Dozens killed in Tehran mosque fire

At least 59 people died and more than 200 were injured today when a fire blazed through a central Tehran mosque during evening prayers, Iran’s official news agency reported.

The Arg Mosque was filled with hundreds of worshippers, more crowded than usual because this is the Islamic month of Muharram, a holy period for Shiite Muslims.

Panicked people raced for the doors and smashed windows to escape the blaze, one witness said.

Tehran Police Chief Brigadier General Morteza Talaie was quoted by the Islamic Republic News Agency as saying the death toll rose to 59 from the earlier report of 35 deaths.

IRNA quoted rescue workers as saying more than 250 people were injured in the fire.

The agency said the fire started when the veil of a female worshipper caught the flames of a kerosene heater on the upper floor of the mosque. A large thick curtain then caught fire and dropped onto the heads of some of the male worshippers at the ground floor, IRNA reported.

Earlier reports had blamed a faulty electrical outlet, but IRNA said that theory had been discounted.

It also said officials had discounted the possibility of a bomb or arson attack.

“Pieces of burning cloth fell on the head of the worshippers, who stopped praying and smashed windows to run out of the mosque in panic,” the eyewitness said.

The mosque walls were charred, carpets were burned and religious books were destroyed. After the fire, burned shoes and women’s black chadors left behind by fleeing worshippers were scattered in the mosque yard.

The injured, some of them in critical condition, were taken to nearby hospitals. Relatives gathered outside to await news of their loved ones.

Muharram is a month of mourning when Shiite Muslims recall the 7th century death of Hussein, grandson of Islam’s prophet Muhammad.