Rescuers are continuing to dig through the debris of a building that collapsed in south-western Iran, killing at least 14 people, with many more feared to be trapped beneath the rubble.
Authorities declared a one-day mourning period on Wednesday, while Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi urged the local authorities to establish what happened.
The 10-storey under-construction Metropol building in Abadan, capital of Khuzestan province, collapsed at about 12:40pm local time on Monday.
Located on the busy Amir Kabir Street, the project featured two towers – one already built and the other under construction. Lower commercial floors had been completed and tenants had already moved in.
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People stand at the site where a 10-storey building collapsed in the city of Abadan, Iran. EPA -
There are fears the death toll could rise as dozens of people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble. EPA -
Building collapses are not uncommon in Iran. Fars News Agency / AP -
People gather at the site where the 10-storey building collapsed. Tasnim News / AFP -
The cause of the collapse, which occurred during a sandstorm, is still unclear. Tasnim News / AFP -
The owner of the building and the project manager of the construction company that built it were arrested. Fars News Agency / AP -
People gather at the site of the building collapse. Tasnim News / AFP
On Tuesday, an emergency official told state TV that about 50 people may have been inside the building at the time of the collapse.
It was not made clear whether that figure included those already pulled from the rubble. Officials said earlier that at least 39 people were injured.
State TV, quoting Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, late on Tuesday night, reported that at least 14 people had been killed.
Initially, authorities said the building’s owner and its general contractor were arrested over the incident.
However, a later report from the judiciary’s Mizan news agency on Tuesday showed that the two men were killed in the collapse. Neither report could be confirmed.
An angry crowd at the site chased and beat Abadan city Mayor Hossein Hamidpour after the collapse, the semi-official Ilna news agency reported. Videos online also showed the incident.
Police later arrested Mr Hamidpour and nine others, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.
The authorities offered no immediate comment on whether those detained faced charges and it was not immediately clear if lawyers represented them.
Iran’s vice president in charge of economic affairs, Mohsen Razaei, and Mr Vahidi visited the site.
A parliamentary inquiry was opened on Tuesday to determine why the building collapsed during a sandstorm.
Later on Tuesday, the state-run Irna news agency quoted Faramarz Zoghi, a construction expert and adviser to the industry, as saying that “definitely national construction measures were not observed” at the site.
