Speaking to reporters during his visit Saturday to the site of the Plasco building, which crumbled to ground after fire engulfed it on Thursday, Alawi rejected claims that the tragic incident was a terrorist attack, saying at a time when the Iranian people are heartbroken by the deaths of several firefighters and citizens, spreading lies about the incident is not acceptable at all.
“Currently, there is no sign that the incident was a terrorist one, but if any evidence shows that there was a terrorist intention at work, we will definitely carry out our devised measures,” Alawi added.
As the operation to find those trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building continues, rescue teams have so far retrieved two bodies from smoldering debris.
The rescue operation is hampered mainly by the metal beams in a pile of rubble with white plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
Firefighters, soldiers and other emergency responders have been digging through the debris over the past days, looking for survivors. It is not clear how many people were in the steel-and-concrete building when it collapsed.
According to Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, between 20 to 25 people are believed to have been trapped under the rubble.
Top stories of the Plasco building caught fire at around 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, and the whole building crumpled to the ground less than four hours later.
