The death toll from a devastating tower collapse in southwestern Iran rose to at least 38 on Sunday, as emergency workers pulled another body out of the rubble, amid fears that there may be more to the destruction, state TV reported. can get trapped.
It is not clear how many more people were involved in the collapse of the under-construction tower at the Metropole building in Abadan about two weeks ago. Rescue teams were still working and families were still waiting for the word of their loved ones, despite promises that the search operation would be over by now.
The structural building failure in the oil-rich but poor Khuzestan province has focused public attention on shoddy construction practices and led to widespread allegations of government corruption and negligence. Authorities have arrested 13 people as part of a wider investigation into the disaster, including Abadan Mayor Hussein Hamidpour, who resigned last Friday.
Protesters have gathered in mourning at the collapse site, condemning top officials and demanding accountability, according to videos analyzed by The Associated Press and shared widely on social media. However, reporting on Abadan’s incidents is extremely difficult as the threat of arrest looms large. According to experts, authorities have blocked internet access, limiting people’s ability to share videos and information.
In an effort to allay public distrust, President Ibrahim Raisi made a surprise visit to Abadan last Friday, where he surveyed the disaster site and offered personal condolences to the families of the victims. During his visit, traders lodged complaints about the scope of corruption in the local government, state media reported.
Raisi vowed that the government would “not hesitate to tackle criminals” and would “monitor construction more closely, especially of tall buildings.”
“Criminals should be aware that the passage of time will not absolve them of responsibility and accountability,” he said.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also touched on Abadan’s incidents during his live televised speech on Saturday – further indicating his seriousness.
In his first speech outside his residence since the outbreak of the pandemic in Iran, Khamenei warned of dire consequences for those who violate the rules and may have helped cause the disaster in Abadan.
“The responsible should be brought to justice, their punishment should serve as a lesson to others and such incidents should be avoided in future,” he said.
Khamenei blamed the recent outbreak of protests in the restive Khuzestan province on Iran’s “enemies”, which include “treacherous Iranians” abroad, whom he said are the country through “psychological warfare and online campaigns”. try to harm the interests of
Reza Pahlavi, in exile in the US, the eldest son of Iran’s ousted monarch before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, last week called for a “unified front against the Islamic Republic” over reports of growing anger in Abadan. The death toll from a devastating tower collapse in southwestern Iran rose to at least 38 on Sunday, as emergency workers pulled another body out of the rubble, amid fears that there may be more to the destruction, state TV reported. can get trapped.
It is not clear how many more people were involved in the collapse of the under-construction tower at the Metropole building in Abadan about two weeks ago. Rescue teams were still working and families were still waiting for the word of their loved ones, despite promises that the search operation would be over by now.
The structural building failure in the oil-rich but poor Khuzestan province has focused public attention on shoddy construction practices and led to widespread allegations of government corruption and negligence. Authorities have arrested 13 people as part of a wider investigation into the disaster, including Abadan Mayor Hussein Hamidpour, who resigned last Friday.
Protesters have gathered in mourning at the collapse site, condemning top officials and demanding accountability, according to videos analyzed by The Associated Press and shared widely on social media. However, reporting on Abadan’s incidents is extremely difficult as the threat of arrest looms large. According to experts, authorities have blocked internet access, limiting people’s ability to share videos and information.
In an effort to allay public distrust, President Ibrahim Raisi made a surprise visit to Abadan last Friday, where he surveyed the disaster site and offered personal condolences to the families of the victims. During his visit, traders lodged complaints about the scope of corruption in the local government, state media reported.
Raisi vowed that the government would “not hesitate to tackle criminals” and would “monitor construction more closely, especially of tall buildings.”
“Criminals should be aware that the passage of time will not absolve them of responsibility and accountability,” he said.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also touched on Abadan’s incidents during his live televised speech on Saturday – further indicating his seriousness.
In his first speech outside his residence since the outbreak of the pandemic in Iran, Khamenei warned of dire consequences for those who violate the rules and may have helped cause the disaster in Abadan.
“The responsible should be brought to justice, their punishment should serve as a lesson to others and such incidents should be avoided in future,” he said.
Khamenei blamed the recent outbreak of protests in the restive Khuzestan province on Iran’s “enemies”, which include “treacherous Iranians” abroad, whom he said are the country through “psychological warfare and online campaigns”. try to harm the interests of
Reza Pahlavi, in exile in the US, the eldest son of Iran’s ousted monarch before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, last week called for a “unified front against the Islamic Republic” over reports of growing anger in Abadan.
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