The Plasco Building ( fa, ساختمان پلاسکو, Sâxtmâne Plâskô) is a 20-story high-rise (5 floors below and 15 floors above ground) landmark building in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, the capital city of Iran. The former building at the time of its construction in the 1960s, it was the tallest building in Iran
and was considered an iconic part of the Tehran skyline.
It collapsed on 19 January 2017 during a
high-rise fire
The following is a list of fires in high-rise buildings. A skyscraper fire or high-rise fire is a class of structural fire specific to tall buildings. Skyscraper fires are technically challenging for fire departments: they require unusually high ...
.
Construction of the new building began in 2018 and was completed in 2021.
History
Former Building
The Plasco building was built in 1962 by the prominent businessman
Habib Elghanian
Habib (Habibollah) Elghanian ( fa, حبیب (حبیبالله) القانیان, 5 April 1912 – 9 May 1979) was a prominent Iranian Jewish businessman and philanthropist who served as the president of the Tehran Jewish Society and acted ...
, during a decade of rapid growth in Iran. The building was named after his plastics company.
At the time of its construction it was the tallest building in Iran,
and was considered an iconic landmark of the Tehran skyline, representing the drive for modernization under the rule of Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran
, image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg
, caption = Shah in 1973
, succession = Shah of Iran
, reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979
, coronation = 26 October ...
.
After the
1979 Iranian revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
, Habib Elghanian was executed by the new government, which seized the building and handed ownership of it to the state-controlled
Islamic Revolution Mostazafan Foundation, tied to the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
. The Mostazafan Foundation operated the building until its collapse.
At the time of the fire, the Plasco building was used as a
residential and commercial building, with a major shopping center on its ground floor, a restaurant on its upper floor, and several clothing workshops.
Fire and collapse
On 19 January 2017, a fire started on the ninth floor at around 07:50 local time (04:20 GMT). The building was occupied at the time by its residents, workers at the garment shops, and various tour groups that were being shown around the building.
Ten fire brigades arrived to fight the blaze. The combined brigades had been trying to stop the fire for hours—while assuring that the building had been evacuated—when the building's north wall collapsed without warning, leading to the collapse of the rest of the building a few moments later.
The collapse was captured on camera by Iran's state-run
Press TV
Press TV (stylised as PRESSTV) is an Iranian state-owned news network that broadcasts in the English and French languages owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the only organization legally able to transmit radio and TV broadc ...
, which was filming the firefighting efforts.
Several firefighters were in the building when the north wall fell, some of whom safely escaped before the building completely collapsed. A number had been fighting the fire from elevated aerial platforms that toppled over during the collapse of the building.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf or Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf ( fa, محمد باقر قالیباف, born 23 August 1961) is an Iranian conservative politician, former military officer, and current Speaker of the Parliament of Iran since 2020. He held off ...
, the
mayor of Tehran
The Mayor of Tehran is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of 21 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Tehran. Since 2 September 2021, Alireza Zakani is the mayor of Tehran. Previously, the position was held b ...
, said he believed that no other civilians were within the building when it collapsed, but eyewitnesses reported seeing residents crossing police lines to try to enter the building and recover their possessions.
Twenty firefighters have been reported to be killed. At least 70 others were injured by the collapse, with 23 taken to local hospitals having suffered severe injuries. The building primarily collapsed vertically, causing minimal damage to neighboring buildings.
The remains of 15 firefighters were recovered after nine days of relief and rescue operations, which were aided by the local military.
Tens of thousands of Iranians, including firefighters and senior officials, attended the funeral ceremony held at Tehran's
Grand Mosalla. They were laid to rest in part of the
Behesht-e Zahra
Behesht-e Zahra ( fa, بهشت زهرا, lit. ''The Paradise of Zahra'', from Fatima az-Zahra) is the largest cemetery in Iran. Located in the southern part of metropolitan Tehran, it is connected to the city by Tehran Metro Line 1.
History
In ...
cemetery that is reserved for martyrs. Iranian Leader
Ayatollah Khamenei
Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنهای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...
eulogized the firefighters in a message, calling them heroes and
shaheed
''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
s.
Following the building's collapse, its owner, the Mostazafan Foundation, declined to make a public statement.
Four days later, on 23 January 2017 the foundation apologized for their role in the possible failure in building's safety, but added that they are not a member of building's board who is responsible for the building's affairs.
Mohammad Saeedikia
Mohammad Saeedikia (born 1946) is an Iranian politician who is the former head of Bonyad-e Mostazafen va Janbazan (Foundation of the Oppressed and Disabled), from 2014 to 2019. He served as a government minister in different cabinets last of whic ...
, CEO of Mostazafan Foundation also said that the organization is ready to rebuild the Plasco in two years.
In April 2017 the government issued a report on the collapse of the building which stated that the Mostazafan Foundation had ignored warnings given by the authorities. The report also stated that government ministries had failed to enforce 22 national building regulations.
New Building
The construction of the new building lasted from 2018 to 2021 and was finally opened in mid-2021 under the name Plasco 1400. The new Plasco building has 20 floors with 5 floors below and 15 floors above ground.
Gallery
File:Plasco tower, old 01.jpg, Newly built tower in the 1960s
File:Plasco tower, old 02.jpg, Interior of the building in the 1970s
File:Plasco fire by Tasnimnews 10.jpg, Building on fire on 19 January 2017
File:Plasco fire by Tasnimnews 14.jpg, Plasco fire
File:Plasco victims funeral in Tehran 19.jpg, Plasco victims funeral in Tehran 19
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Tehran
This list of tallest buildings in Tehran ranks High-rise buildings in Tehran by height. Tehran has the most high-rise buildings in Iran and its population density is the highest in the country. Note that the Milad Tower (at the 6th tallest concret ...
References
External links
* {{YouTube, sPGr4D1-zDI, "Plasco" Building Collapses in Tehran (another view) – a video of the collapse
Plasco Building, Tehran
Building collapses in 2017
2017 in Iran
Buildings and structures in Tehran
Commercial buildings completed in 1962
Residential buildings completed in 1962
Fires in Iran
Burned buildings and structures
Collapsed buildings and structures
Demolished buildings and structures in Iran
2017 fires in Asia
January 2017 events in Iran
Former skyscrapers
Building collapses in Asia
Man-made disasters in Iran
Building collapses caused by fire