Rescuers are continuing to dig through the debris of a building that collapsed in south-western Iran, killing at least 14 people, with many more feared to be trapped beneath the rubble.
Authorities declared a one-day mourning period on Wednesday, while Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi urged the local authorities to establish what happened.
The 10-storey under-construction Metropol building in Abadan, capital of Khuzestan province, collapsed at about 12:40pm local time on Monday.
Located on the busy Amir Kabir Street, the project featured two towers – one already built and the other under construction. Lower commercial floors had been completed and tenants had already moved in.
On Tuesday, an emergency official told state TV that about 50 people may have been inside the building at the time of the collapse.
It was not made clear whether that figure included those already pulled from the rubble. Officials said earlier that at least 39 people were injured.
State TV, quoting Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, late on Tuesday night, reported that at least 14 people had been killed.
Initially, authorities said the building’s owner and its general contractor were arrested over the incident.
However, a later report from the judiciary’s Mizan news agency on Tuesday showed that the two men were killed in the collapse. Neither report could be confirmed.
An angry crowd at the site chased and beat Abadan city Mayor Hossein Hamidpour after the collapse, the semi-official Ilna news agency reported. Videos online also showed the incident.
Police later arrested Mr Hamidpour and nine others, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.
The authorities offered no immediate comment on whether those detained faced charges and it was not immediately clear if lawyers represented them.
Iran’s vice president in charge of economic affairs, Mohsen Razaei, and Mr Vahidi visited the site.
A parliamentary inquiry was opened on Tuesday to determine why the building collapsed during a sandstorm.
Later on Tuesday, the state-run Irna news agency quoted Faramarz Zoghi, a construction expert and adviser to the industry, as saying that “definitely national construction measures were not observed” at the site.
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
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Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
