Tehran: Hundreds of people gathered to pay tribute to the dozens killed in a building collapse in southwestern Iran after two more bodies were discovered, local media said on Monday.
A 10-story Metropole building located on a busy street in Abadan, a city in Khuzestan province, was under construction when parts of it exploded on May 23 in one of Iran’s deadliest such disasters.
According to the Red Crescent, two more bodies were found under the rubble on Monday morning, taking the death toll to 31.
According to the Fars news agency, “the residents of Khuzestan cried for the victims” when they gathered on Sunday evening at the invitation of the Imam of Abadan.
Sunday was declared a day of national mourning by the government.
Hundreds of people shouted at the end of a speech by Mohsin Heydri, a local representative of the committee of experts that selects Iran’s supreme leader.
Others knocked down a camera on a platform used by state television, the Tasneem news agency said, noting that police called on people to leave the scene to avoid escalating tension.
The provincial governor said on Sunday that a total of 38 people were reported missing in the disaster, indicating that seven were still untraceable after a new search on Monday.
Night-time protests over the disaster have been regular in Abadan and elsewhere in the province since Wednesday night, as citizens have called for local authorities to heed.
13 people, including the mayor of Abadan and two former mayors, have been arrested in connection with the building collapse.
Demonstrations have also been reported in the central Iranian cities of Isfahan and Yazd.
Iran disperses crowd after building collapses 29 killed Iran protesters demand justice as building collapse raises toll