Tehran fire: 30 feared dead

Smoke rises from a blazing high-rise building in Tehran. Photo: Reuters

At least 30 firefighters are feared dead after a major commercial building in Tehran collapsed following a huge fire, state media reported, according to Al Jazeera.

Reports of casualties are said to have been conflicting after the collapse on Thursday as some state media outlets that had initially reported dozens of deaths later backtracked.

The head of Iran's emergency medical services, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, was quoted to have said many firefighters were feared dead.

Over 200 people injured in the fire were transferred to medical facilities, Al Jazeera said referring to IRNA news agency.

It said Fars news agency quoted sources saying some 30 firefighters had "most likely" been killed and that the toll was likely to rise as many people were trapped in the building when it fell apart.

State television was quoted to have said 200 firefighters had been called to the scene around 8am. The building later collapsed during a live broadcast at 11:32am.

The 17-storey building, dating from the early 1960s and including a shopping centre and clothing workshops, was being evacuated after the fire broke out, but some people were reportedly still inside when the collapse happened.

The police had blocked off streets around the building, which was among the first high-rises built in the Iranian capital, according to Al Jazeera.

Dramatic images showed flames pouring out of the top floors before it crumbled to the ground, said Al Jazeera.

"We had repeatedly warned the building managers about the lack of safety of the building," fire brigade spokesman Jalal Malekias was quoted to have said, adding that it lacked fire extinguishers.

"Even in the stairwells, a lot of clothing is stored and this is against safety standards. The managers didn't pay attention to the warnings," he reportedly said.