Tehran fire: Iconic Plasco building collapses killing 20 firefighters
A high-rise building in Tehran engulfed by a fire has collapsed, killing at least 20 firefighters and injuring some 70 people, Iranian state television quoted the city's mayor as saying.
Iran's state-run Press TV announced the firefighters' deaths, without giving a source for the information.
Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours before the collapse. Police tried to keep out shopkeepers and others wanting to rush back in to collect their valuables.
The building came down in a matter of seconds, shown live on state television, which had begun an interview with a journalist at the scene. A side of the building came down first, tumbling perilously close to a firefighter perched on a ladder and spraying water on the blaze.
Footage of the scene showed distraught firefighters reacting in horror as they realised their colleagues were still inside the building.
Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said there were "no ordinary civilians" trapped under the rubble. However, witnesses said some people had slipped through the police cordon and gone back into the building.
"At least 20 firefighters who were trapped under rubble have died.
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