A Ruin That Still Collapses; ‘Metropol’ After 10 Days

Ten days after the collapse of the 10-story commercial complex “Metropol” in Abadan, according to official reports released to date, the bodies of 37 people have been removed from under the rubble of this tower, and it remains unclear how many others are still trapped beneath the debris.

Sadegh Khalilian, governor of Khuzestan, stated on Wednesday in an interview with Iran’s official news agency IRNA: “According to experts’ opinion, this building did not have sufficient resistance and its demolition status must be determined.” He said: “Within the next 24 hours, the fate of the bodies of people trapped under the rubble will be determined.”

The governor of Khuzestan also announced the payment of compensation to those affected from the assets of “Abdolbaqi.” Khalilian said: “From the assets of the owner of Metropol, insurance companies will also pay compensation to those harmed in this incident.” Previously, Mohammad Mokhber, first vice president, had stated that the state would pay compensation for destroyed homes to their owners.

According to IRNA news agency, the full representative of the Khatam al-Anbia construction headquarters in the Metropol project announced the finalization of “demolishing the building’s remains” and said that “this operation will take approximately three months.” According to Mostafa Motadayen, “structure explosion is the last option,” because “the psychological aspect of the matter” must be considered.

However, in recent days, reports from Abadan indicated disruptions to internet service in Abadan and power outages and the closure of “all shops” on streets leading to the remains of “Metropol”; conditions that residents describe as “martial law.”

With the escalation of restrictions on public freedoms in Iran, the Office of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that it condemns the continued use of violence by the Islamic Republic government against protesters who are peacefully demonstrating in Iran, and wrote in a tweet that “brave Iranians” are demanding from the government to address “their legitimate concerns about conditions resulting from mismanagement and neglect by the regime.” The office announced that the United States supports people’s rights to peaceful assembly and expression.

The Iranian Writers Association also expressed concern by releasing a statement regarding the arrest of Arash Qaleh-Golab, a poet and journalist from Abadan, and held security institutions responsible for the safety of those arrested during protests over the collapse of “Metropol.” Qaleh-Golab was arrested on June 25 by security forces and beaten.

It is worth noting that in recent days, some media outlets have revealed connections between Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Hossein Abdolbaqi, the owner and investor of Metropol. According to media reports, Maud Shamkhani, Ali Shamkhani’s nephew, was the principal introducer of Hossein Abdolbaqi for investment in the city of Abadan.

On Tuesday, Solehat Mortazavi, executive vice president, called for the trial of Gholamreza Shariati, governor of Khuzestan in Hassan Rouhani’s government. According to Hamshahri Online, Mortazavi said: “This building, despite very serious violations that occurred, was inaugurated in the presence of the then-governor and local officials, and for this reason, the mayor, members of the city council, and the then-governor should be accountable in judicial courts and the court of public opinion.”

Gholamreza Shariati, former governor of Khuzestan, also responded to the executive vice president’s remarks in a letter to the president, writing: “Instead of answering why the repeated warnings issued over the past 9 months by the officials in charge were not heeded, the executive vice president attributes to me the inauguration of the collapsed building, which was incomplete and unfinished, while he well knows that the inaugurated building is a different building that was completed in 1398 (approximately two and a half years ago) and is still intact and in use.”

Despite all this, Mostafa Hashemi Taba wrote in the editorial of Thursday’s edition of the newspaper “Sharq” in a note titled “Don’t Worry, Nothing Will Come of It” about the collapse of “Metropol”: “Based on past experience, after some time, with the formation of a file for the perpetrators and gradually, with various connections and arguments, the passage of time will include the perpetrators of this tragedy and everything will return to the previous routine.”

In another part of this article, he wrote: “Of course, the aforementioned incident and the views of the country’s executive and judicial authorities have more or less caused concern for some builders and owners of these buildings and made them fearful of the consequences. Of course, this includes the inexperienced; otherwise, the experienced ones or seasoned wolves still lay their heads peacefully, knowing that orders like sparks of fire will soon dissipate.”

The commercial complex “Metropol” collapsed at noon on the second day of Khordad in Abadan. The reason for the collapse of this building has not been officially announced so far. However, the Structural Engineering Research Institute of the International Institute of Earthquake Research and Earthquake Engineering announced three main reasons for the collapse of the 10-story commercial complex “Metropol” in Abadan: failure to adhere to engineering systems, builders’ failure to heed warnings from supervising engineers, and the municipality’s negligence of these warnings.

Source: Voice of America