Burning Tehran High-Rise Collapses, Kills 50 Firefighters

The collapse of a Tehran high-rise building engulfed in flames killed at least 50 firefighters and injured at least 75 more people Thursday, state media reported. The Plasco, considered an iconic building in the center of the Iranian capital, was seen crumbling to the ground on live television after firefighters fought the fire for several hours. Mayor Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf said rescuers have been digging through the rubble to try to reach any survivors trapped inside. According to the Associated Press, the historic 17-story tower “was built in the early 1960s by Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian and named after his plastics-manufacturing company. It was the tallest building in the city at the time of its construction. Elghanian was tried on charges that included espionage and executed in the months after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought the current ruling system to power.”