Tehran:  Up to 10 people are feared dead from a gas pipeline blast near Iran`s northeastern city of Mashhad and another 16 sustained burns of various degrees, the Fars news agency reported on Sunday, the day after the accident, reports NDTV.

"Around nine or 10 people have been reported dead and some 16 of the people working there have been taken to hospital in Mashhad, out of whom six were treated as outpatients," Fars quoted Alireza Gharibi, managing director of the state-run Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company, as saying.

Officials said on Saturday that the explosion occurred when a mechanical shovel struck a pipeline carrying gas from Khangiran refinery near Turkmenistan border to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad.

BDST: 1444 HRS, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010