One Day After the Fire at Plasco; One Firefighter Dead, '20 to 25' Firefighters Trapped Under Rubble

One day after the fire at the Plasco building, which led to its collapse, approximately '20 to 25 firefighters' are still trapped under the rubble. Iranian domestic news agencies report that hopes of rescuing them alive are diminishing. Meanwhile, Iran's emergency services announced that one of the injured firefighters, who was hospitalized in the ICU at Shahid Motahari Hospital with severe burns, has died due to the severity of his injuries. More reports indicate that no bodies have yet been recovered from under the rubble. An image from ISNA news agency shows one firefighter hours after the collapse of Plasco, with his colleagues trapped beneath the debris. Mehr news agency states that some people and firefighters are under the rubble, and there is no news about the fate of around 25 firefighters. ISNA has reported the number of missing firefighters as 'about 20'. Rescue operations are still ongoing. However, Dr. Pirhossein Kolivand, head of Iran's emergency services, told ISNA that 'the conditions for rescue operations have become very difficult and challenging. Rescue and debris removal operations are ongoing from all sections of the Plasco building, but the thick smoke rising from the building is creating serious problems for rescue efforts.' Despite the reduction in the volume of fire, the spokesperson for Iran's fire department stated that the smoke still present at the site is likely due to fires burning beneath the rubble. Jalal Maleki mentioned that there are still a number of hidden fires, and firefighters must extinguish any fire wherever they see smoke. He also reiterated his request for people not to gather at the accident site, as it remains unsafe. Reports indicate that the number of people trying to reach the area has decreased, but some are still present around the accident site. According to available reports, more than 80 people were injured in this incident, with 33 of them transferred to the hospital. However, it has been reported that some firefighters, despite their injuries, have refused to leave the accident site and have remained there. Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Chamber of Guilds estimated the damage to the Plasco complex at around 150 trillion tomans, adding that 'a significant portion of the businesses in this building are uninsured.' The fire at the Plasco building began early Thursday morning and shortly afterward, as the fire spread to the upper floors of this 50-year-old building, it collapsed. The official cause of the fire has not yet been announced, but government officials have stated that the incident is 'not security-related.'