Tehran, Iran (BBN)-At least 38 people have been injured by a fire that caused a high-rise building in Iran's capital, Tehran, to collapse.
State TV said "tens" of firefighters might also have been inside the 17-storey Plasco building when it fell to the ground in a matter of seconds, reports BBC.
Two hundred had been battling the blaze for several hours before the collapse.
The building was the tallest in Tehran when it was completed in the early 1960s, and included a shopping centre and clothing workshops.
Fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki said the structure lacked fire extinguishers.
"We had repeatedly warned the building managers about the lack of safety of the building," he was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
"Even in the stairwells, a lot of clothing is stored and this is against safety standards. The managers didn't pay attention to the warnings," he added.
BBN/SK/AD