Collapse of Burning Tehran High-Rise Kills at Least 30 Firefighters

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A high-rise building in Tehran engulfed by fire collapsed on Thursday, killing at least 30 firefighters and injuring some 75 people, state media reported.

The disaster struck the Plasco building, an iconic structure in central Tehran just north of the Iranian capital's sprawling bazaar. Firefighters, soldiers and other emergency responders dug through the rubble, looking for survivors.

Iranian authorities did not immediately release definitive casualty figures, which is common in unfolding disasters.

Iran's state-run Press TV announced the firefighters' deaths, without giving a source for the information. Local Iranian state television said 30 civilians were injured in the disaster, while the state-run IRNA news agency said 45 firefighters had been injured.

Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours before the collapse. The fire appeared to be the most intense in the building's upper floors, home to garment workshops where tailors cook for themselves and use old kerosene heaters for warmth in winter.

Police tried to keep out shopkeepers and others wanting to rush back in to collect their valuables.

Tehran's mayor, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said there were "no ordinary civilians" trapped under the rubble. However, witnesses said some people had slipped through the police cordon and gone back into the building.

President Hassan Rouhani ordered Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli to investigate and report the cause of the incident as soon as possible, IRNA reported.

He also ordered the ministry to ensure the injured were cared for and to take immediate action to compensate those affected by the disaster.

The building came down in a matter of seconds, shown live on state television, which had begun an interview with a journalist at the scene. A side of the building came down first, tumbling perilously close to a firefighter perched on a ladder and spraying water on the blaze.

A thick plume of brown smoke rose over the site after the collapse. Onlookers wailed in grief.

Among those watching the disaster unfold was Masoumeh Kazemi, who said she rushed to the building as her two sons and a brother had jobs in the garment workshops occupying the upper floors of the high-rise.

"I do not know where they are now," Kazemi said, crying.

In a nearby intersection, Abbas Nikkhoo stood with tears in his eyes.

"My nephew was working in a workshop there," he said. "He has been living with me since moving to Tehran last year from the north of the country in hopes of finding a job."

Jalal Maleki, a fire department spokesman, earlier told Iranian state television that 10 firehouses responded to the blaze, which was first reported around 8 a.m. He later said authorities visited the building "many times" to warn them about conditions there.

"They stacked up material on staircases, which was very awful, although we warned them many times," he said.

Late Thursday afternoon, another fire broke out at a building next to the collapsed tower, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Firefighters worked to put it out.

Several embassies are located near the building. Turkey's state-run news agency, reporting from Tehran, said the Turkish Embassy was evacuated as a precaution, though it sustained no damage in the collapse.

The Plasco building was an iconic presence on the Tehran skyline.

The 17-story tower was built in the early 1960s by Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian and named after his plastics manufacturing company. It was the tallest building in the city at the time of its construction.

Elghanian was tried on charges that included espionage and executed in the months after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought the current ruling system to power — a move that prompted many members of the country's longstanding Jewish community to flee.

The tower is attached to a multistory shopping mall featuring a sky-lit atrium and a series of turquoise fountains. It wasn't immediately clear if the mall was damaged.

Comments 17
Thumb farsical.resistance 19 January 2017, 18:07

Sorry but this is uncalled for

Thumb farsical.resistance 19 January 2017, 18:09

This is unfair, this is tragic wherever it happens.

Thumb justin 19 January 2017, 20:07

well said texas. This filthy troll and his 100 fake accounts were rejoicing the death of the white helmets and accusing them of killing babies and filming them for media propaganda. Now he is lecturing others on morals that he so sorely lacks.

Thumb EagleDawn 19 January 2017, 20:22

whom other than a sick retard like @flametroller rejoices and wishes the death and destruction of MTV station for doing their job?

whom other than a sick retard like @flametroller wishes the destruction of whole lebanese cities such arsal, sidon and tripoli and turning them into parking lots?

whom other than a sick retard like @flametroller calls for soaking M14 leaders in acid baths?

Thumb Mystic 19 January 2017, 22:47

These Al Qaeda White Helmets texas?

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.beeley/videos/10156061466428868/

Thumb warrior 20 January 2017, 02:39

the mighty follower of al hussain quotes 'vanessa.beeley' and Facebook, a zionist owned flirting site.

laughable!

Thumb EagleDawn 20 January 2017, 07:22

is vanesssa beeley zainab's profile on facebook? Is she the one who works at dahiehwood productions? lol

Thumb nonabel. 19 January 2017, 20:09

I don't know who is sicker, Little brown thing or his twin the cyber bully. One thing for sure we know that both are of the sub-human species.

Thumb EagleDawn 19 January 2017, 20:25

There is a Cristian businessman kidnapped by shia terrorists in Brital. Since you are a devout Christian I thought you should know perhaps you could go to that article and offer a comment instead of feeling sorry for iranians perishing in a building that collapsed in Tehran. Just saying...

Thumb justin 19 January 2017, 20:28

indeed :)))) roflmao @eagle!

Thumb barrymore 19 January 2017, 20:57

hahaha
nonabel just answered your call and posted just below with his usual 'rabbish':)

Thumb nonabel. 19 January 2017, 21:25

No need commenting on the Christian business man ya Sectarian eagledung. I have commented in the past on similar events and condemned the villains and took a tongue lashing from you and your sectarian buddies.
I have also called the related gangs in Brital, Scums. Got that?
I do wish you well my hero, ooops, I meant zero.

Thumb Puppet 19 January 2017, 21:31

Mr. Nonabel is deserving of my utmost and unconditional respect for turning the other cheek in Jesus-like manner and for taking a tongue's lashing from the sectarian eagle dung and his buddies.

Missing rabbishlomo 19 January 2017, 20:36

All my respect for terrorist for showing feelings of an almost
"Human nature."
Be it a natural disaster or a dead baby in the dumpster.

Thumb Elemental 20 January 2017, 05:27

Yet your group kills women and children with zero inhibition, care to elaborate?

Thumb ice-man 19 January 2017, 22:06

How Sad.......

Thumb scorpyonn 20 January 2017, 07:01

That country is plagued with death and destruction. Trump might finish them off!!!