Iranians mourn 16 firefighters killed in Tehran building collapse
Xinhua, January 30, 2017 Adjust font size:
People in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday attended a funeral ceremony honoring 16 firefighters who died in a massive fire and subsequent collapse of a 17-story building in Tehran on Jan. 19, Tasnim news agency reported.
A host of senior Iranian officials, firefighters, rescue squads and ordinary people attended the funeral service to pay tribute to the firemen who lost their lives in the line of duty.
The remains of 15 firefighters were retrieved from the rubble of the collapsed building after a week-long operation; one firefighter died in hospital after the building collapse, Tasnim said.
Tehran's mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf confirmed earlier the death of 20 in the collapse of the 54-year-old building with 600 commercial shops.
Preliminary investigations identified electrical malfunction as the the initial cause of fire. Endit