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Dozens feared dead as burning high-rise collapses live on television in Tehran

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Ankara and Tehran: At least 20 firefighters were killed when a 17-storey Tehran commercial building collapsed on top of them as they tried to put out a blaze, Iranian state television quoted the city's mayor as saying on Thursday.

But there was confusion over the toll, as a fire department spokesman said soon afterwards that there was still a chance of finding them alive.

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Iranian building collapses after catching fire

It's unknown how many people have been killed after Tehran's iconic Plasco building caught fire and collapsed.

Soldiers, sniffer dogs and rescue workers were searching the ruins of the Plasco building after it crashed down in a giant cloud of dust. The collapse was shown live on state television. One witness described it as "like a horror movie".

"At least 20 firefighters who were trapped under rubble have died," Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said. "They are martyrs. They lost their lives when trying to help people."

Qalibaf had earlier said around 25 firefighters were trapped inside the building. State TV said the death toll might increase.

But Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki told the broadcaster: "I cannot confirm the death of around 20 firefighters ... The rescue operation still continues. They might still be alive."

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Mr Qalibaf had earlier said around 25 firefighters were trapped inside the building. State TV said the death toll might increase and that at least 78 people, including 45 firefighters, had been injured, and the remains of the building had continued to burn after the collapse. Most of those hurt had been taken to hospital and many were quickly discharged, it said.

Television footage and videos circulating on social media captured the shock of Iranians at the scene of the collapse, some bursting into tears, others holding their heads in shock at the loss of an iconic structure.

"This landmark of modernity is gone," said Siavash Ramesh, a tour guide who was working in the building Thursday morning.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said troops had been sent to help dig through the ruins. It said one of the first firefighters to be reached had demanded to be let back inside to save his colleagues.

The agency quoted an official in the Tehran governor's office as saying an electrical short-circuit had caused the fire, but there was no immediate confirmation of this.

President Hassan Rouhani had ordered "an immediate investigation" on the cause of the collapse, state news agency IRNA reported.

The building's occupants were evacuated but firefighters had still been trying to control the blaze when it came down.

"Our main worry is about those firefighters trapped under rubble," Pir Hossein Kolivand, head of the Emergency Medical Services, told IRNA. "All the nearby hospitals are on alert."

State TV said the building housed garment manufacturers and broadcast footage of business owners trying to enter the building's ruins as rescue teams scoured the wreckage for survivors.

The search and rescue operation could last more than two days, it reported.

The Plasco building in southern Tehran was more than 50 years old. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said it "had caught fire in the past".

Tasnim reported that the fire had started on the ninth floor and said more than 200 firefighters had been dispatched to the scene as the blaze tore through the building.

A fire department spokesman told state TV that the building's occupants "had been warned repeatedly in the past months by the municipality to evacuate the building because of safety concerns."

The owner of a nearby grocery store, 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 had cordoned off the British and Turkish Embassies that are located near the Plasco building.

"The flames could be seen kilometres away from the old building," the Fars news agency reported.

A rectangular block that seemed drab by today's standards, it was for a generation of Iranians the tallest and most magnificent high-rise in the country.

It also stood out for its builder: a Jewish plastics tycoon, Habib Elghanian, who was executed in the months after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran's ruling mullahs accused Elghanian, the head of a prominent association of Jewish Iranians, of spying for Israel, which triggered an exodus of Jews from the country.

For some Iranians, the building's collapse was akin to losing a family member.

"Our landmark monument is gone, right before our eyes," said Nasrin Sadvand, a Tehran resident who was near the site.

Others saw deeper meaning in the building's collapse. Ramesh, the tour guide, recalled the story of how a political activist who opposed the ruling theocracy was allegedly dropped from the top of the building by security agents for refusing to disclose sensitive information.

"The building took revenge from the people who misused it," Ramesh said.

AAP and The Los Angeles Times