At least 32 killed in fire at drug rehab centre in northern Iran

Blaze is extinguished as investigation launched to know cause of fire

A huge blaze at a drug rehabilitation centre in northern Iran has killed 32 people and injured a dozen more, according to state media.

The fire broke out at a drug rehabilitation camp in Langarud, about 200km (125 miles) northwest of the capital Tehran early Friday morning, state TV said.

At least 17 others injured in the fire were rushed to a hospital, said provincial chief justice Esmail Sadeghi.

The manager of the centre and others have been taken into custody.

A video shared on Telegram showed a massive fire engulfing a building as the emergency services siren buzzed in the background.

Another footage showed emergency workers, firefighters and ambulances gathered outside the destroyed site after the fire was doused.

The facility’s entire room was gutted to flames with windows shattered and walls blackened by smoke.

The fire has been controlled and authorities have launched an investigation into it to find the cause of the blaze.

According to an initial investigation, a heater in the opium rehab camp in Langarud in the Caspian Sea province of Gilan led to the fire. The blaze spread quickly to the rest of the centre, the province’s deputy governor was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.

“The manager and other possible culprits have been arrested so that the cause of the incident is more accurately determined,” the Tasnim news site said.

Incidents of fire are not rare in Iran where safety measures are mostly disregarded in facilities with inadequate emergency services.

In September, a fire broke out in a car battery factory owned by Iran’s Defense Ministry. It was the second incident of fire in less than a week but casualties were reported.

Another massive fire broke out in January 2017 that left 22 people dead, including 16 firefighters after a blaze swept the 15-storey Plasco shopping centre in Tehran.