Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif thanked the countries that sympathized with the Islamic Republic over the collapse of a building in downtown Tehran on Thursday that led to the death of a number of firefighters.
“Today we mourn the loss of our brave firefighters and pray for them and their families. Appreciate sympathies from across the globe,” Zarif said in a message posted on his Twitter account on Saturday, Tasnim News Agency reported.
On Saturday, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev extended condolences to President Hassan Rouhani over the tragic incident, saying, “I was saddened to learn about numerous losses after fire and collapse of the shopping center in Tehran.”
South Africa also issued a statement, saying, “The South African government extends its condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident and further wishes the injured a speedy recovery.”
Some other countries, including Syria, Pakistan, Armenia, Turkey and Britain, have also commiserated with Iran over the heartrending incident. As the operation to find the people under the rubble of the collapsed building continues, rescue teams retrieved the first body from smoldering debris on Saturday.
The rescue operation is hampered mainly by the metal beams in a pile of debris with white plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints