By Amir Vahdat and Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran — A historic high-rise building in the heart of Iran’s capital caught fire and later collapsed Thursday, killing at least 30 firefighters and leaving their stunned colleagues and bystanders weeping in the streets. One witness described it as "like a horror movie".State TV said at least 78 people, including 45 firefighters, had been injured, and the remains of the building had continued to burn after the collapse. The horrifying scene was "inadvertently shown live on state television," The Associated Press reports, and left other firefighters and eyewitnesses crying in the streets. The Plasco building, Iran's first private high-rise, was built more than 50 years ago by a prominent Iranian-Jewish businessman who was arrested and sentenced to death for ties to Israel after the 1979 Islamic revolution. "That is why adjacent buildings were not damaged," he said.Occupants of the building had been evacuated as the firefighters tackled the blaze. Here's more from the wire service:



"Firefighters, soldiers and other emergency responders dug through the debris into the night, looking for survivors. While it was not clear how many people were in the steel-and-concrete building, witnesses said many had slipped through a police cordon while the fire burned to go back inside for their belongings. " 'Firefighters went inside to bring them out, and then suddenly the building collapsed,' Hosseini said." The mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said the firefighters who died in the collapse were "martyrs," Reuters reports. "The flames could be seen kilometers away from the old building ... but most of the residents and shopkeepers in the building have been evacuated," the semi-official Fars news agency reported. President Hassan Rouhani ordered Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli to investigate and report the cause of the incident as soon as possible, IRNA reported. Search dogs were looking for survivors, and the rescue operation could last for more than two days, Reuters says, citing Iranian state TV.
The 17-story Plasco Building collapses after a blaze in Tehran, Iran. The building was evacuated but 30 firefighters have been killed in the collapse.