Death toll in Iranian building collapse of rises to 38

It is unclear how many other people remain missing in the collapse of the tower still under construction at the Metropol Building in Abadan nearly two weeks ago. Rescuers were still working and families were still waiting for news of their loved ones despite promises that the search operations would now be over.
The failure of structural construction in the oil-rich but impoverished Khuzestan province has focused public attention on poor construction practices and has sparked mass accusations of government corruption and neglect. Authorities arrested 13 people as part of a broad investigation into the disaster, including Abadan mayor Hossein Hamidpour, who resigned on Friday.

Protesters gathered in mourning at the crash site, denouncing senior officials and demanding accountability, according to videos shared widely on social media and analyzed by the Associated Press. However, the reporting of events in Abadan remains extremely difficult as the threat of arrest looms. Authorities have shut down internet access, experts say, limiting people’s ability to share videos and information.

In an effort to address public mistrust, President Ebrahim Raisi paid a surprise visit to Abadan on Friday, where he examined the site of the disaster and expressed personal condolences to the families of the victims. During his trip, businessmen filed complaints about the extent of corruption in the local government, state media reported.

Raisi promised that the government “will not hesitate to deal with offenders” and “will monitor the construction more closely, especially the skyscrapers”.

“Authors should know that the passage of time does not release them from responsibility and liability,” he said.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also touched upon the events in Abadan during his live televised address on Saturday, providing a further indication of their gravity.

In his first speech outside his residence since the pandemic hit Iran, Khamenei warned of the grave consequences for those who violated the regulations and may have helped wreak havoc in Abadan.

“Those responsible must be brought to justice, their punishment should serve as a lesson for others and similar incidents in the future should be avoided,” he said.
Khamenei also blamed the recent outbreak of protests in troubled Khuzestan province over Iran’s “enemies”, including “Iranian traitors” abroad, who he says seek to harm the country’s interest through “psychological warfare and online campaigns “.

Reza Pahlavi, in exile in the United States, the eldest son of the Iranian monarch who was deposed before the 1979 Islamic revolution, last week caught news of growing anger in Abadan to call for the creation of a “united front against the Islamic Republic.