Berlin, Nov 8 (IANS) Around 35 workers have been rescued after an explosion in a former potash salt mine in the city of Teutschenthal in eastern Germany, German police reported on Friday.

The police reported that two workers were injured by the explosion, which took place on Friday morning in the Teutschenthal mine, about 150 km southwest of Germany's capital Berlin, reports Xinhua news agency.

The cause of the explosion remained unclear as the police would be "investigating in all directions," German newspaper Bild cited police spokesperson Ralf Karlstedt.

The mine was shut down in 1982 after being used for about 80 years to extract potash salt. During the last 15 years, the mine have been converted into a "stowing mine" in order to protect the surface "by backfilling the subterranean caverns of the former mine", according to the mine's operating company.

--IANS rt/