TEHRAN -- Five people have been killed when a 10-storey building in Iran’s southern city of Abadan partly collapsed and rescuers are trying to help at least 80 people left trapped under the rubble, Iranian national TV reported Monday.
The Mehr news agency identified the building as a residential-commercial property on Amir Kabir street in the city, which is close to the border with Iraq.
National TV said emergency teams were being dispatched from other cities to help with the rescue operation, with two teams of rescue dogs, a helicopter and seven rescue vehicles already at the scene.
It showed footage of angry Abadan residents shouting slogans against the city authorities.
The head of Khuzestan province’s judiciary has ordered an investigation into the building’s collapse, and its owner and the contractor who built it have been arrested, the TV said.
President Ebrahim Raisi, who is on an official visit to Oman, issued strict orders to all concerned officials to do whatever in their power to manage the incident.
He has ordered Vice President Muhammad Mokhber to have rescue and firefighting teams dispatched to Abadan from Tehran, and mobilize all national and provincial capacities to help people affected by the building collapse.
Iran’s president also condoled with the families of those who lost their lives in the incident. He said those responsible for the incident must be identified and punished to the full extent of the law.