Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei admired the courage and sacrifice of faithful firefighters and relentless efforts of rescue teams who completed a great work during recent days.
"Tragic incident of burning and collapse of a building in downtown filled me with sorrow, grief and worry. The incident on one hand is sad and on other hand full of pride, whole nation shall be proud of this courage and resolve which comes from faith," the message reads.
"When duty demands taking risk, the faithful Iranian embodies a strong will and exemplary courage. These honorable men once again revitalized the memories of sacrifices made during Holy Defense years. They are martyrs of difficult career and high-risk duty and will never be forgotten, God Willing," Ayatollah Khamenei underlined.
"I share the grief of loss of those beloveds and other victims of Plasco incident with their families and relatives and pray that Almighty God give peace to their soul and patience to their families," Leader asserted.
Ayatollah Khamenei also extended his gratitude to the organizations, rescue workers, firefighters, and all people who worked days and nights to save the lives of firefighters and find the bodies of those trapped and completed their duty with cooperation and sincerity, praying for Divine reward for them.
Bodies of 16 firefighters who were martyred in the Plasco incident will rest in peace after popular funeral ceremony to be held this morning, where masses of people will carry the bodies from Tehran's Grand Mosalla to southern Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra graveyard.
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