- The death toll from the collapse of an Iranian building has risen to 41.
- The 10-story Metropol building in Abadan, southwestern Khuzestan province.
- In 2017, the Plasco Building, in central Tehran, collapsed, killing 22 people.
The death toll from the collapse of an Iranian building two weeks ago has risen to 41, local authorities said Monday, after three more bodies were discovered.
The 10-story Metropol building in Abadan, southwestern Khuzestan province, collapsed on May 23, igniting angry protests in solidarity with the victims’ families.
“The number of victims of the Metropol accident has risen to 41 after the discovery and identification of three more bodies,” city governor Ehsan Abbaspour was quoted saying by the official IRNA news agency.
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“Rescue teams are still trying to find more bodies under the rubble.”
Iran’s Vice President for Executive Affairs Solat Mortazavi was quoted as saying that “the remains of the building will be completely destroyed after removing the debris”.
The disaster, one of Iran’s deadliest in years, sparked a series of demonstrations across the country against authorities accused of corruption and incompetence.
According to the regional judiciary, 13 people have been arrested, including Abadan’s mayor and two former mayors, for being “responsible” for the tragedy.
In 2017, the Plasco Building, a 15-story shopping mall built in the early 1960s in central Tehran, collapsed, killing 22 people, including 16 firefighters.
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