Jewish synagogue in Tehran collapsed due to excavation

The Jewish synagogue on Shariati Street in Tehran collapsed this Friday morning due to excavation inside the building.

According to IRNA, the incident occurred when 16 worshippers were praying in the synagogue.

According to a firefighter, the owner of the building had been excavating the floor of the building for some time to expand the physical space, which had caused cracks in the building.

One of the members present at the synagogue, showing photos, said: "For some time now, I have been constantly warning the synagogue owner about these cracks and the possibility of the building collapsing, and I have asked him to stop the excavation."

He pointed out that this morning, I went to the synagogue to pray and suddenly witnessed the collapse of the building. He added: "I thought everyone present in the building would be killed, but when I went inside, I realized that those present in the synagogue had quickly rushed to the courtyard when the building began to shake."

According to him, if this incident had happened tomorrow, which is our day of worship, there would have been a possibility of casualties due to the presence of 250 people.

One resident also said: "I recently witnessed several tons of soil being removed from the building and transported outside the city. Unfortunately, the municipality has not properly monitored this."
There were no casualties in the incident, and only two cars parked in front of the synagogue were damaged.