Death toll from building collapse in Iran rises to 22

By Ahmet Dursun

ANKARA (AA) - The death toll from a building collapse in southwestern Iran's Khuzestan province rose to 22 on Friday, while 48 people were rescued from the rubble.

Ihsan Abbasipur, the governor of the city of Abadan, told Iranian state television that the number of injured people as a result of the collapse of a 10-story business center under construction stood to 37.

Efforts are underway to rescue those still trapped under the building that collapsed in the city of Abadan on Monday, according to a local Red Crescent official.

More than 150 people are said to have been inside the Metro Pol commercial building on the busy Amiri Street when it collapsed.

Mohammad-Hassan Nami, chairman of the Crisis Management Organization, had told media on Tuesday that they have been evacuating all the nearby buildings at risk of collapse, while rescue teams tried to enter the basement through tunnels dug around the collapsed building.

Meanwhile, the number of people taken into custody amid an investigation into the incident has risen to 11, said the provincial Prosecutor General's Office.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev