A multistory commercial building in Iran’s capital, Tehran, collapsed Thursday after a fire blazed through the upper floors for hours, Iranian state media reported.
State-run Press TV reported that more than two dozen firefighters were injured trying to put out the blaze and that some were trapped inside the building.
A spokesman for Tehran’s medical emergencies department said that nearly 40 people, including firefighters, have been injured, according to Iran’s state-run Fars news agency.
Footage broadcast on the station showed the building’s dramatic collapse.
Fars said the downtown Plasco building, built more than 50 years ago, was home to hundreds of garment manufacturers and other businesses.
Most people had been evacuated, according to Fars, but there were fears for the safety of firefighters and rescue workers who had entered the building.
Images showed plumes of thick black smoke billowing from the building’s upper stories before it collapsed.