Condolences on Loss of Lives in Building Collapse

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei offered condolences on the loss of lives in a building collapse in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, calling it an “unfortunate incident”.
In a message on Thursday, which was read in a meeting chaired by President Ebrahim Raisi, Ayatollah Khamenei called for the rescue operation to be accelerated to minimize casualty toll, according to the Leader’s website.
The death toll from the collapse of a 10-story Metropol commercial building in the city of Abadan on Monday has reached 24.
The exact number of people trapped under the rubble is still not known as the search operation has been going slowly and carefully for the fear of adjacent buildings falling down.
Condoling with the families of the victims, the Leader instructed authorities to prosecute those responsible and hand them punishment.
He also called for necessary measures to prevent the reoccurrence of such tragic incidents, saying it was the responsibility of all the officials of the country.
“The unfortunate incident in Abadan … lays the responsibility with all of us—the officials of the country—to pursue the culprits of the incident and give exemplary punishment to them with the cooperation of the judiciary, and make a concerted effort to prevent its recurrence in all parts of the country.”