Firefighters trapped as building falls
RESCUE workers in Tehran were desperately hunting for firefighters trapped under the rubble after a fire yesterday led to the collapse of Iran’s oldest high-rise, the 15-storey Plasco building.
Officials had yet to confirm if anyone had been killed, but Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told state television that between 20 and 25 firefighters were thought to be inside when the building fell.
Three people were pulled alive from the rubble and taken to hospital, the head of Tehran’s emergency services said, according to the ISNA news agency.
At least 70 firefighters were injured and 23 admitted to hospital as they rushed to evacuate the building, which had been on fire for about four hours before it crumbled, the head of emergency services told state TV.
About 200 firefighters had been tackling the blaze at the Plasco building, which was built in 1962 and included a shopping centre and clothing workshops.
Dramatic images showed flames pouring out of the top floors just before it came down live on television.
“I was inside and suddenly I felt the building was shaking and was about to collapse,” a firefighter at the scene, Ali, said.
“As we gathered colleagues and got out, a minute later the building collapsed.”
Media reports said the workshops were especially full of clothes in the build-up to Nowruz, the Iranian new year, which falls in March.
President Hassan Rouhani called for an immediate probe into the causes of the incident.
Municipality and fire brigade spokesmen said the owners had been warned repeatedly that the building was not safe but had ignored the warnings.
Firefighters caked in soot wept outside the building as the hunt for their colleagues continued, and media showed Tehranis queueing to donate blood.
“I’ve lost my entire stock. Thousands of families have been ruined,” the owner of one of the 400 shops and business units, Ahmad, said.
The fire is thought to have begun on the ninth floor and quickly spread to workshops above.