19 killed in commercial building collapse in Iran

Tehran: The death toll in a 10-storey commercial building collapse in Iran's southwestern city of Abadan has risen to 19, semi-official news agency ISNA reported Thursday quoting a local official.

So far, 37 have been injured and are under treatment in the hospitals, Ehsan Abbaspour, deputy governor of Khuzestan Province, told ISNA. About 2,000 workers are involved in the rescue work which will continue until the last casualty is evacuated, according to Abbaspour and the report.

On Tuesday, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported that 10 people were arrested in the wake of the incident that also killed the building's owner and contractor.

The building under construction is located on a crowded street in downtown Abadan, surrounded by commercial and medical complexes.