Fri 03 October 2023:
A massive blaze ripped through a drug rehabilitation centre in northern Iran on Friday (Nov 3), claiming the lives of at least 32 people and wounding 16 others, local media reported.
The blaze erupted during the night after a heater caught fire with the flames setting light to the curtains, he said on the reason behind the incident.
He said that the number of casualties was high because the rehab centre was overcrowded and the ones being treated there had no space to move freely.
Earlier, the death toll was reported as 27 with 12 injured, by the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website, highlighting that the rehab centre only had a capacity of 40 people.
The province’s chief justice Esmail Sadeghi released a statement saying that the manager and other possible culprits have been arrested.
As per news agency AFP, the footage of the incident showed massive flames gushing out of the rehab centre forcing plumes of smoke into the air.
The blaze engulfed the building, destroyed its roof and shattered all the windows. The walls of the centre also turned black in the aftermath.
Iran and drug abuse
Drug abuse has been an constant issue in Iran and as per the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), it has one of the most severe addiction problems in the world.
Figures cited by UNODC in 2021 suggested 2.8 million people in Iran were struggling with a drug problem.
Multiple campaigns have been launched by the Iranian authorities to fight the drug menace in the country in the past but the issue continues to prevail.
