MP: Engineering Organization must be held accountable for Metropole collapse

The head of the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran introduced the Engineering System Organization as the first responsible authority in the case of the collapse of the Metropole Tower in Abadan.

At the same time, 11 days after the collapse of the Metropole Tower, which left dozens dead and injured, President Ebrahim Raisi traveled to Abadan.

Musa Ghazanfarabadi, a member of parliament and head of the commission, said on Friday, June 4, that the "supervisors" of the Abadan Metropole project played a "main and fundamental role" in the collapse of this building, despite previous claims that the addition of several floors to this building occurred despite repeated warnings from the organization's supervisors.

In the early days of the incident, a document was posted on Twitter indicating that the supervising engineers had warned about numerous defects in the Metropol building. The supervising engineer wrote in the same document that work should be stopped until the defects and deficiencies were fixed.

Mr. Ghazanfarabadi also considered the "agency responsible for assessing safety and following up on maintaining and improving the safety of buildings" unclear and added, without mentioning details: "Due to the failure of some to perform their duties, tragic incidents such as the collapse of the Abadan Metro Bridge occur, but after a while the matter is forgotten."

After the collapse of the Abadan Metropole Tower, in which at least 38 victims have been identified so far, local journalists reported that local media and social media have repeatedly warned against the collusion of Hossein Abdulbaqi, the owner of the tower, with city and political officials and disregard for construction and safety principles.

In the early days of the incident, the main responsibility lay with Abdul Baqi Holding, but gradually the responsible authorities announced the involvement of other responsible entities in the incident.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi himself has acknowledged the violations committed in the construction of the Abadan Metropole Tower and said that reports of violations have been "ignored."

Mohammad Reza Eskandari, head of the Arvand Free Zone Organization, also said in a television program that the organization corresponded with the municipality about some violations at the Metropol, but none of them were answered, and the judiciary has not responded to the Free Zone Organization's report about these violations.

Among the 13 people arrested in connection with the collapse of this tower are the current mayor and two former mayors of Abadan.

Meanwhile, on Friday, June 3, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi traveled to Abadan and visited the site of the destroyed tower.

In a video released from this trip, one of the citizens bluntly tells him that no one "pays attention" to the people of this city and asks him to "reach out" to the people of Abadan.

Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi Shahroudi, a representative of the people of Khuzestan in the Assembly of Experts, also expressed doubt about the death of the building owner during the collapse and said: "Finally, a committee should be formed to investigate these damages and compensate them... to say who is responsible and liable for this unjustly shed blood and this property. It may take many years."

Source: Radio Farda