By Xinhua,
Tehran : Up to 19 people have killed in an apartment building collapse in the Iranian capital of Tehran, Iran’s satellite Press TV reported on Tuesday.
The incident occurred in Sa’adatabad district in northern Tehran on Monday morning while construction workers were sleeping in the seven-story building which has been on the verge of collapse for months.
“When the building collapsed early this morning a 20-member workforce were in it,” Tehran Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi said on Monday.
The fate of the last man remains unknown, Press TV said, adding that so far it was not clear if he was inside the building at the time of the collapse.
Iranian authorities have detained five people, including the engineers overseeing the construction, the contractor and the builder, warning of “serious punishment” for those responsible for the fatal incident.