Death toll from building collapse in Iran rises to 14

The death toll from a building collapse in southwestern Iran rose to 14 on Wednesday, with officials fearing more people could still be trapped under the rubble.

Ihsan Abbasipur, the governor of Abadan, told Iranian state television that 14 bodies have been recovered so far, while the number of injured people increased to 37.

Efforts are underway to rescue those still trapped under the 10-story building that collapsed in the city of Abadan on Monday, he added.

More than 150 people are said to have been inside the Metro Pol commercial building on the busy Amiri Street when it collapsed.

It is estimated that 50 more people are still under the collapsed building.

Mohammad-Hassan Nami, chairman of the Crisis Management Organization, had told media outlets on Tuesday that they have been evacuating all the nearby buildings at risk of collapse, while rescue teams tried to enter the basement through tunnels dug around the collapsed building.

Meanwhile, the number of people taken into custody amid an investigation into the incident has also risen to 10, Khuzestan Prosecutor General Sadiq Jafari Chegeni had said in a statement on Tuesday.