Five Buildings Collapse In Iran's Capital Tehran

Five buildings that were under construction have collapsed in southern Tehran, killing at least three people and injuring more than 10 others.

Tehran's Firefighting Organization said Sunday that four police officers and two municipality employees as well as a few other people had been trapped under the rubble.

Three dead bodies, including Major Hossein Esmaili and Colonel Yazdan Soleimanabadi, have been recovered from the debris. The third victim, an elderly man, has not been identified yet while rescue operations are still underway at the site. At least two other people are still trapped.

The two police officers had been overseeing the legally-ordered demolition of a building, when five buildings nearby collapsed, and they were killed under the rubble.

There are at least hundreds of high-risk buildings in Tehran, but authorities refrain from officially announcing the list saying it "would worry the people". However, a list of 129 unsafe buildings was published by Ensaf News last year. IRNA state news agency reported last June that there are currently "33,000 unsafe buildings" in Tehran.

The Plasco Building was a 20-story high-rise that collapsed on January 19, 2017 after it caught fire. Twenty firefighters were reportedly killed and at least 70 others were injured by the collapse.

The problem is not limited to the capital. Last year in May, a 10-storey building in the southern city of Abadan collapsed, burying more than 80 people under the rubble, with 42 bodies recovered, an incident described by pundits as “a miniature symbol of the dynamics prevailing in Iran's government."

Soon after the collapse it became apparent that the owner and builder, Hossein Abdolbaghi, was a well-connected businessman who had disregarded regulations and building codes, backed by officials, who might have had their own financial interests.