HRANA – On the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the Human Rights Activists in Iran have examined the situation of workplace accidents caused by unsafe environments or working conditions over the period from 3 May 2025 to 27 April 2026.
According to data compiled by the organization’s statistics department, during this period, at least 586 workers lost their lives and at least 4,424 workers were injured due to workplace accidents resulting from unsafe environments or working conditions.
In 2003, the International Labour Organization (ILO), after extensive review, designated April 28 as World Day for Safety and Health at Work. The aim is to raise awareness about occupational safety and health, with an emphasis on preventing workplace accidents and diseases. In effect, it is an international campaign highlighting the importance of improving workplace safety and its impact on reducing work-related fatalities. Accordingly, governments are required to develop systematic policies and programs to monitor and enforce compliance with occupational safety and health regulations. It is also noteworthy that since 1996, labor unions worldwide have marked this day as a global day of remembrance for workers killed or injured on the job.
According to HRA’s Statistics And Documents Center, based on reports published over the past 12 months, the deaths of at least 586 workers due to workplace accidents linked to unsafe conditions have been reported by media outlets or relevant organizations.
In addition, 4,424 cases of work-related injuries have been reported and compiled by the organization’s statistics department.
Among the most tragic and notable incidents of the past year are: the deaths of 9 workers in a fire at an industrial workshop in Borkhar, located in Isfahan province; the poisoning of 17 workers by carbon monoxide gas in a cold storage facility in Fariman, Razavi Khorasan Province; the death and injury of 13 workers in a fire at the Kaveh Methanol Petrochemical plant; and the death and injury of 3 miners following a coal mine collapse in Nahroudbar, located in Mazandaran Province.
Based on the data collected by HRA’s Statistics And Documents Center, the causes of these incidents are distributed as follows: 20.28% construction-related accidents, 15.91% falls from height, 15.21% struck by hard objects, 11.89% fires, 7.69% mining incidents, 7.17% traffic accidents, 5.94% electrocutions, 3.32% explosions, 2.97% gas poisoning, 2.45% accidents in wells, 2.27% in factories, 2.10% poisoning, 1.05% drowning, 0.52% heatstroke, 0.52% smoke inhalation, 0.52% in petrochemical and refinery sectors, and 0.17% agricultural accidents.
Workplace Accident Categorization Chart