The bodies of at least 21 miners trying to help colleagues trapped after an explosion in a coal mine in northern Iran have been recovered. A local official in the area said that nearly 70 people were injured. The officials said that those killed were miners in a tunnel trying to reach 32 miners trapped underground in the northern province of Golestan.<br/><br/>The mine blast is thought to have been caused by a gas leak. Emergency crews are at work at the scene of the disaster, and have so far cleared about 1,960 feet of the tunnel leading to the mine. But there has so far been no news about the condition of the trapped miners.<br/><br/>They are believed to be at least 4,265 feet underground at the Zemestan-Yurt mine, near Azadshahr. The men are said to have limited space and to be in danger from volatile gasses.<br/><br/>Earlier reports said that at least 50 miners were buried by the blast. It remains unclear exactly how many miners are affected.