Fire at drug rehabilitation centre kills 32 in northern Iran

A massive fire at a drug rehabilitation centre in northern Iran has killed at least 32 people and injured 16, Iranian media reported on Friday.

State TV said 16 other people were injured and taken to hospitals in Langroud, a city about 200 kilometres northwest of the capital, Tehran.

The TV report said the centre had capacity for 40 patients. It was not clear how many staff members were working when the early morning fire broke out. The earlier broadcast said 27 people died and 17 were injured.

Initial investigation showed that a heater in the opium rehab camp in Langarud in the Caspian Sea province of Gilan was the cause of the fire that spread to the rest of the centre, the province's deputy governor was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.

"The manager and other possible culprits have been arrested so that the cause of the incident is more accurately determined," the Tasnim news site said.

A video showed flames and smoke pouring into a dark sky. The fire was later extinguished, and authorities were investigating how it started, the TV report said.

The head of Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, ordered a full investigation.

Agencies