A Tehran fire station. Photo: Tehran municipality.

The Tehran fire department said it rescued 16 Jews from the rubble of a makeshift synagogue that collapsed on Friday morning, Iranian regime-aligned news agency Tasnim reported on Friday.

Firefighters Organization spokesman Jalal Maleki said units from two stations were dispatched to the scene, where fifteen men and one woman had been praying at the time of the incident. He said that all the people who had been trapped in the wreckage were evacuated unharmed, but damage was caused to three cars parked in front of the building, which is located on Shariati Avenue.

One firefighter told the media that the owner of the building had been digging under the building, which led to cracks in the structure. A Jewish witness said he warned the owner of a possible collapse and urged him to stop the excavation.

The witness said, “If the incident had occurred [Saturday], which is our praying day, there would be the possibility of fatalities due to the presence of 250 people.”