Ten dead, dozens saved after 10-storey building collapses in Iran
Ten people have been killed and dozens injured after an unfinished building collapsed in southwest Iran, the Iranian Red Crescent said.
Rescue teams worked through the night to pull out the dozens still trapped in the 10-story Metropol office block in Abadan, state media reported.
Pictures showed that concrete floors and steel beams had fallen onto the street below, crushing several cars.
Officials said the cause of the collapse was being investigated.
Those who were trapped in the building for hours have since been rescued and taken to hospital, a regional governor told the Iranian state news agency Irna.
Local prosecutor Hamid Maranipour said both the Metropol’s owner and the building contractor had been arrested.
Witnesses said the collapse, which happened at around 12:40 local time (08:10 GMT), was sudden.
The Iranian Red Crescent said 23 rescue teams from Abadan and neighboring cities rushed to the scene along with more than a dozen ambulances.
It was initially feared that at least 80 people were trapped in the rubble, but after several hours rescuers lowered the missing to “tens” of people.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES