The dramatic crumble of the building was captured on live TV as news crews filmed the firemen attempting to extinguish the flames ripping through the building
AT least 75 people have been killed after Iran's oldest high-rise building was engulfed by a fire and collapsed in Tehran.
Iran's state-run Press TV said the dead included 45 firefighters who had been called in to battle the blaze.
The dramatic crumble of the building was captured on live TV as news crews filmed the firemen attempting to extinguish the flames ripping through the building.
Dozens of firefighters are feared trapped in the rubble after 200 were called to battle the blaze.
Many had already been hurt before it came down, and initial figures said between 30 and 40 firefighters had been injured and seven hospitalised.
Dramatic images showed flames pouring out of the top floors of the building, which dated from the early 1960s and included a shopping centre and clothing workshops.
"The building's caretaker and some firefighters were inside when the building collapsed," said Ahmad, a shop owner in the building.
"I've lost my entire stock. Thousands of families have been ruined," he added.
The steel skeleton of the building could be seen bending down to the ground as around 100 fire engines and dozens of ambulances surrounded the area.
The British embassy in the Islamic Republic, located near the building, has been evacuated following the collapse.
Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours before the collapse as police kept out shopkeepers and others wanting to rush back in to collect their valuables.
The building came down in a matter of seconds, shown live on state television, which had begun an interview with a journalist at the scene.
"The building is one of the oldest buildings in Tehran. The Plasco building is a very old building in southern Tehran. It is mostly a commercial building," state TV said, referring to the Plasco Building, which is more than 50 years old.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Plasco building "had caught fire in the past".
"The fire started on the ninth floor ... The fire is almost under the control now," Tasnim reported.
A grocery shop owner, forced by police to leave the area, told Reuters by telephone that "it was like a horror movie. The building collapsed in front of me."
The semi-official Fars news agency said police have cordoned off British and Turkish embassies that are located near the Plasco building.
A side of the building came down first, tumbling perilously close to a firefighter perched on a ladder and spraying water on the blaze.
A thick plume of brown smoke rose over the site. Onlookers wailed in grief.
Fire brigade spokesman Jalal Malekias said the building was known to breach safety standards.
"We had repeatedly warned the building managers about the lack of safety of the building," he said, adding that it lacked sufficient fire extinguishers.
"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 told state television.
The 17-story tower was built in the early 1960s by Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian and named after his plastics manufacturing company.
It was the tallest building in the city at the time of its construction.
Elghanian was tried on charges that included espionage and executed in the months after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought the current ruling system to power a move that prompted many members of the country's longstanding Jewish community to flee.
The tower is attached to a multistory shopping mall featuring a sky-lit atrium and a series of turquoise-coloured fountains.
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