Iran building collapse: at least five fatalities, over a dozen injuries

Five people lost their lives, and over a dozen others sustained injuries when five adjacent structures crumbled in the southwestern part of Tehran on August 6. The tragic event occurred as police and demolition crews were executing orders to dismantle illegally constructed multi-story buildings. During the demolition process, the buildings collapsed due to their instability and lack to meet safety standards. It was later revealed that these structures were constructed without proper foundations.

This incident highlights the problem of substandard construction in the Iranian capital. The judiciary had issued an order to raze these hazardous buildings in the low-income Khalazir area of southern Tehran, aiming to address the issue of unsafe and unauthorized construction.

Ahmad Sadeghi, a Tehran City Council member and former head of Tehran's Crisis Management Organization, visited the site of the incident and expressed concerns about the reckless construction practices in the neighborhood. He noted that buildings were hastily constructed overnight. These illegal builders took advantage of the circumstances from the previous year to construct these precarious buildings. Furthermore, they employed unscrupulous people and prevented anyone from approaching the structures.

Unfortunately, Iran has witnessed a series of significant building collapses and fires in recent years due to inadequate construction and maintenance. The most recent incident occurred in Abadan, where a partially completed 10-story Metropol Tower building collapsed on a busy shopping street, claiming the lives of 43 individuals.