While the intensive operations to remove debirs of collpased building in central Tehran are still going on after nearly 40 hours since the incident broke out, the rescuers managed to find the first two bodies of martyred firefighters who were trapped under the wreckages and debris.
With the latest discovery the confirmed number of fatalities reaches 3 with another firefighter succumbing to death early on Friday after bring in hosiptal and under intensive care.
17-storey building in downtown caught fire on Thursday morning which later tyrned into a catastrophe after the blaze led to the collapse of whole building, trapping a number of firefighters and probably a number of shop owners in the shopping center. At least 20 firefighters are expected to be trapped under the building all of them unfortunately feared dead.
The firefighters, rescue teams and special forces are on the scene working intensively to remove the rubbles and find a path into a room under the building where a group of firefighters are expected to be there. Removal of metals and debris however leads to exposure of oxygen to the heats underneath, causing more fire blazing from the collapsed building.
Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf has said the operation to remove rubbles is estimated to coontinue for 5-6 days.
HR