TEHRAN — Emergency workers have dug tunnels into the wreckage of a collapsed high-rise in downtown Tehran in their search for survivors and bodies, Iranian state TV reported.

They have not yet found any of the firefighters believed to be buried under the rubble, Iran’s fire chief told the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. More than 20 are thought to have died.

The two tunnels lead from adjacent buildings into the collapsed 17-story Plasco building, IRINN reported. The huge size of the site makes reaching the trapped firefighters very difficult, the station said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement Thursday supporting the firefighters’ rescue efforts and giving his condolences to the families of the firemen who died.

“More than 20 of our colleagues in the fire department have lost their lives while trying to save the people in the fire,” Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was cited by IRINN as saying Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Tehran’s fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki told IRINN an estimated 20 to 30 firefighters were on the third floor of the Plasco building when it collapsed.

The cause of the fire and collapse is being investigated, he added.

Housing garment manufacturers and other businesses, the Plasco building was one of Tehran’s oldest high-rises and a feature of the city’s skyline.

The commercial building’s dramatic collapse on live TV came after a fire raged for hours through its upper floors.

Official news agency IRNA cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying Friday that all necessary measures had been taken to secure the German, Turkish and British embassies nearby.

Located on Jomhouri Avenue in central Tehran, the Plasco building was constructed in 1962. It was named after a successful plastics business, Plascokar.

Seventeen stories tall, it was the country’s first private high-rise building and soon became a well-known feature of the city’s skyline.</s>TEHRAN — Emergency workers have dug tunnels into the wreckage of a collapsed high-rise in downtown Tehran in their search for survivors and bodies, Iranian state TV reported.

They have not yet found any of the firefighters believed to be buried under the rubble, Iran‘s fire chief told the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. More than 20 are thought to have died.

The two tunnels lead from adjacent buildings into the collapsed 17-story Plasco building, IRINN reported. The huge size of the site makes reaching the trapped firefighters very difficult, the station said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement Thursday supporting the firefighters’ rescue efforts and giving his condolences to the families of the firemen who died.

“More than 20 of our colleagues in the fire department have lost their lives while trying to save the people in the fire,” Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was cited by IRINN as saying Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Tehran’s fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki told IRINN an estimated 20 to 30 firefighters were on the third floor of the Plasco building when it collapsed.

The cause of the fire and collapse is being investigated, he added.

Housing garment manufacturers and other businesses, the Plasco building was one of Tehran’s oldest high-rises and a feature of the city’s skyline.

The commercial building’s dramatic collapse on live TV came after a fire raged for hours through its upper floors.

Official news agency IRNA cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying Friday that all necessary measures had been taken to secure the German, Turkish and British embassies nearby.

Located on Jomhouri Avenue in central Tehran, the Plasco building was constructed in 1962. It was named after a successful plastics business, Plascokar.

Seventeen stories tall, it was the country’s first private high-rise building and soon became a well-known feature of the city’s skyline.</s>Emergency workers have dug tunnels into the wreckage of a collapsed high-rise in downtown Tehran in their search for survivors and bodies, Iranian state TV reported.

They have not yet found any of the firefighters believed to be buried under the rubble, Iran’s fire chief told the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. More than 20 are thought to have died.

The two tunnels lead from adjacent buildings into the collapsed 17-story Plasco building, IRINN reported. The huge size of the site makes reaching the trapped firefighters very difficult, the station said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement Thursday supporting the firefighters’ rescue efforts and giving his condolences to the families of the firemen who died.

“More than 20 of our colleagues in the fire department have lost their lives while trying to save the people in the fire,” Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was cited by IRINN as saying Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Tehran’s fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki told IRINN an estimated 20 to 30 firefighters were on the third floor of the Plasco building when it collapsed.

The cause of the fire and collapse is being investigated, he added.

Housing garment manufacturers and other businesses, the Plasco building was one of Tehran’s oldest high-rises and a feature of the city’s skyline.

The commercial building’s dramatic collapse on live TV came after a fire raged for hours through its upper floors.

Official news agency IRNA cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying Friday that all necessary measures had been taken to secure the German, Turkish and British embassies nearby.

Located on Jomhouri Avenue in central Tehran, the Plasco building was constructed in 1962. It was named after a successful plastics business, Plascokar.

Seventeen stories tall, it was the country’s first private high-rise building and soon became a well-known feature of the city’s skyline.</s>Story highlights Report: Emergency workers have dug tunnels into the wreckage of the Plasco building

Tehran's mayor told state TV that more than 20 firefighters had died at the site

Tehran (CNN) Emergency workers have dug tunnels into the wreckage of a collapsed high-rise in downtown Tehran in their search for survivors and bodies, Iranian state TV reported.

They have not yet found any of the firefighters believed to be buried under the rubble, Iran's fire chief told the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. More than 20 are thought to have died.

The two tunnels lead from adjacent buildings into the collapsed 17-story Plasco building, IRINN reported. The huge size of the site makes reaching the trapped firefighters very difficult, the station said.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement Thursday supporting the firefighters' rescue efforts and giving his condolences to the families of the firemen who died.

Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside The rubble of the Plasco building in Tehran, Iran, is seen after it collapsed following a fire on Thursday, January 19. As many as 30 firefighters are feared dead, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. Official news agency IRNA cited the head of Tehran Emergency Services as saying 70 people were injured in the fire. Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Iranian firefighters comfort a fellow fireman in the aftermath of the building collapse. Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Emergency crews continue operations after the collapse of the Plasco building. Built more than 50 years ago, the iconic building was home to hundreds of garment manufacturers and other businesses, Fars reported. Hide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside A firefighter climbs over the fallen wreckage of the Plasco building. Thirty-five firefighters are missing after the multi-story building collapsed around them as they battled a blaze, Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki told a local journalist on the scene. Rescue teams are trying to dig out the missing firefighters, Maleki said. Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Authorities surround the debris of the collapsed building, which was one of Tehran's oldest high-rises. Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside A firefighter reacts outside the building, where the blaze burned through the upper stories for more than three hours before the structure came down. Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Firefighters outside the building before it collapsed. Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Firefighters worked to move people away and clear the area before the building collapsed. Hide Caption 8 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Iranians watch as firefighters work to extinguish the blazing Plasco building. Hide Caption 9 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Firefighters work to control the blaze. Fars agency cited Mojtaba Doroodian, head of the shirt makers' union, as saying that the fire was the result of a leak in a small gas cylinder on the 10th floor, which caused an explosion when a merchant turned on the lights in his store. Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki said the cause of the building fire and collapse is being investigated. Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Fire crews attempt to extinguish the blaze. Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside Residents take photos of the Plasco building engulfed in smoke and flames. Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: Tehran building collapses following huge fire inside People watch as smoke rises from the windows of the Plasco building. Hide Caption 13 of 13

"More than 20 of our colleagues in the fire department have lost their lives while trying to save the people in the fire," Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was cited by IRINN as saying Thursday.

Read More</s>They have not yet found any of the firefighters believed to be buried under the rubble, Iran's fire chief told the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. More than 20 are thought to have died.

The two tunnels lead from adjacent buildings into the collapsed 17-story Plasco building, IRINN reported. The huge size of the site makes reaching the trapped firefighters very difficult, the station said.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement Thursday supporting the firefighters' rescue efforts and giving his condolences to the families of the firemen who died.

"More than 20 of our colleagues in the fire department have lost their lives while trying to save the people in the fire," Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was cited by IRINN as saying Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Tehran's fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki told IRINN an estimated 20 to 30 firefighters were on the third floor of the Plasco building when it collapsed. The cause of the fire and collapse is being investigated, he added. Housing garment manufacturers and other businesses, the Plasco building was one of Tehran's oldest high-rises and a feature of the city's skyline. The commercial building's dramatic collapse on live TV came after a fire raged for hours through its upper floors. Official news agency IRNA cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying Friday that all necessary measures had been taken to secure the German, Turkish and British embassies nearby. Located on Jomhouri Avenue in central Tehran, the Plasco building was constructed in 1962. It was named after a successful plastics business, Plascokar. Seventeen stories tall, it was the country's first private high-rise building and soon became a well-known feature of the city's skyline.</s>They have not yet found any of the firefighters believed to be buried under the rubble, Iran's fire chief told the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. More than 20 are thought to have died.

The two tunnels lead from adjacent buildings into the collapsed 17-story Plasco building, IRINN reported. The huge size of the site makes reaching the trapped firefighters very difficult, the station said.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement Thursday supporting the firefighters' rescue efforts and giving his condolences to the families of the firemen who died.

"More than 20 of our colleagues in the fire department have lost their lives while trying to save the people in the fire," Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was cited by IRINN as saying Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Tehran's fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki told IRINN an estimated 20 to 30 firefighters were on the third floor of the Plasco building when it collapsed. The cause of the fire and collapse is being investigated, he added. Housing garment manufacturers and other businesses, the Plasco building was one of Tehran's oldest high-rises and a feature of the city's skyline. The commercial building's dramatic collapse on live TV came after a fire raged for hours through its upper floors. Official news agency IRNA cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying Friday that all necessary measures had been taken to secure the German, Turkish and British embassies nearby. Located on Jomhouri Avenue in central Tehran, the Plasco building was constructed in 1962. It was named after a successful plastics business, Plascokar. Seventeen stories tall, it was the country's first private high-rise building and soon became a well-known feature of the city's skyline.</s>They have not yet found any of the firefighters believed to be buried under the rubble, Iran's fire chief told the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. More than 20 are thought to have died.

The two tunnels lead from adjacent buildings into the collapsed 17-story Plasco building, IRINN reported. The huge size of the site makes reaching the trapped firefighters very difficult, the station said.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement Thursday supporting the firefighters' rescue efforts and giving his condolences to the families of the firemen who died.

"More than 20 of our colleagues in the fire department have lost their lives while trying to save the people in the fire," Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was cited by IRINN as saying Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Tehran's fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki told IRINN an estimated 20 to 30 firefighters were on the third floor of the Plasco building when it collapsed. The cause of the fire and collapse is being investigated, he added. Housing garment manufacturers and other businesses, the Plasco building was one of Tehran's oldest high-rises and a feature of the city's skyline. The commercial building's dramatic collapse on live TV came after a fire raged for hours through its upper floors. Official news agency IRNA cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying Friday that all necessary measures had been taken to secure the German, Turkish and British embassies nearby. Located on Jomhouri Avenue in central Tehran, the Plasco building was constructed in 1962. It was named after a successful plastics business, Plascokar. Seventeen stories tall, it was the country's first private high-rise building and soon became a well-known feature of the city's skyline.</s>TEHRAN, Iran — Rescue teams in the Iranian capital worked through the night and into the day Friday to try and reach firefighters and other victims believed to be under the rubble of a commercial building that collapsed in Tehran the previous day.

Iranian officials have yet to offer definitive casualty figures for the disaster. Iran's state-run Press TV reported on Thursday that 30 firefighters had been killed, without elaborating.

Later Thursday, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said more than 20 firefighters had been killed and promised further updates. Ghalibaf also said there were no civilians inside the building at the time of the collapse, though witnesses said people had slipped through a police cordon to try and save their valuables inside the burning building.

On Friday, authorities said an injured firefighter died at a local hospital. No survivors or bodies have been pulled out of the rubble so far.

The disaster had stunned many Iranians and triggered an outpouring of grief across Tehran.

Iran's government announced that Saturday would be a day of mourning for the nation following the incident that "claimed lives of several people and brave firefighters," according to a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.

Jalal Maleki, spokesman of the Tehran Fire Department, told state TV that along with firefighters who are believed to be under the rubble, "we assume that there are some other people."

Iranian media said Behnam Mirzakhani, one of the firefighters hospitalized in Tehran, died Friday from his injuries sustained in the building's collapse.

A total of 84 people had been reported injured, but only five remained hospitalized, said Pirhossein Kolivand, head of the country's emergency department.

The disaster at the 17-story Plasco building, inadvertently shown live on state television that was reporting from the site after the building was engulfed in a fire on Thursday morning, came after authorities said they repeatedly warned tenants about blocking stairwells with fabric from cramped garment workshops on its upper floors.

The high-rise was home to more than 500 garment and clothing shops, their offices and warehouses, and was full of chemical materials, authorities said. The blaze and the subsequent collapse stunned the city and firefighters and others openly wept on the streets, holding each other for support. Dozens of people lined up to donate blood.

Smoke was still seen rising occasionally from the ruins on Friday.

"The smoke is a sign of continuation of the fire under the rubble," Saeed Sharifizadegan, head of Tehran's fire department.

Workers were digging several tunnels from buildings next door to reach the basement of the collapsed building. Teams of rescue dogs were also at the site.

Amir Mohammadi, a retired teacher who lives in a nearby neighborhood, said he couldn't sleep the entire night out of worry.

"How can I go to bed, all those who trapped are like my sons," he said. "Maybe some of them were my students."

Ghasem Rahmani, 63, who owned a shop in the building, stood at Lalehzar junction, a nearby intersection. "Until the collapse I was worrying about my belongings," he said. "Now I am worrying about our sons there."

Authorities described the building, built more than five decades ago, as having a weak structure. Thursday's fire was the worst in Tehran since a 2005 blaze at a historic mosque killed 59 worshippers and injured nearly 200 others.

By nightfall Friday, scores of Iranians held candlelit vigils outside many Tehran fire stations and in other cities and towns across Iran.

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.</s>Emergency workers have dug tunnels into the wreckage of a collapsed high-rise in downtown Tehran in their search for survivors and bodies, Iranian state TV reported. They have not yet found any of the firefighters believed to be buried under the rubble, Iran's fire chief told the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network.

Start the conversation, or Read more at WEHT.</s>Iranian firefighters start to dig a tunnel to make a corridor under the 17-storey Plasco building which collapsed after being engulfed by a fire, in central Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. Iran's state-run Press TV says dozens of firefighters have been killed in the collapse of a burning high-rise building.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Fredericksburg.com.
Search continues for missing firefighters in Tehran's Plasco Building site after the building's deadly fire and collapsing last day.