19 January 2017•Update: 20 January 2017
By Abdul-Jabbar Abu Ras
TEHRAN
A large commercial building collapsed in Iranian capital Tehran on Thursday after being gutted by fire, killing at least 30 firefighters, according to Iranian media reports.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday morning that a fire had broken out in the 15-floor Plasco Tower, one of central Tehran’s best-known commercial buildings.
Not long afterward, the building collapsed, killing an as-yet-undetermined number of firefighters who had been trying to extinguish the blaze.
"Dozens of firefighters… remain trapped under the rubble of the collapsed building," the news agency reported.
"The fire broke out on the ninth floor of the tower," the agency said, adding that reasons for the blaze "remain unknown".
According to Iran’s Fars news agency, at least 30 firefighters were killed when the building collapsed.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency, for its part, reported that "at least 300 firefighters and shop-owners remain trapped under the rubble".
"Until now, there is no information regarding their fate," according to IRNA.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday evening, offering condolences to victims' families.
"We learned with great sorrow that, many have lost their lives after the collapse of a high-rise commercial building, close to Turkish Embassy in Tehran, as a result of the fire that broke out in the building earlier today [Jan. 19]," the statement said.
"We wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives in the incident, convey our condolences to friendly and neighbourly people of Iran, particularly to the relatives of those who lost their lives, as well as the Government of Iran, and a speedy recovery to the injured," it added.
*Satuk Bugra Kutlugun from Ankara contributed to this report.
