Tehran mosque blaze kills 35, injures 200

TEHRAN - Thirty-five people died and 200 have been injured after a faulty electrical heater started a blaze in a Tehran mosque crowded with worshippers for a major Shi'ite Muslim festival, Iranian state television reported.

A Reuters reporter driving to the mosque said roads had been blocked and ambulances were rushing from the scene.

The students news agency ISNA reported a blast was heard, then tents inside the mosque caught fire. Terrified worshippers trampled others trying to escape, some smashing windows in their desperation to escape the flames.

Shi'ite Muslims are pouring into mosques to commemorate the death of the seventh century Shi'ite martyr Hossein, who was killed on the battlefield of Kerbala in Iraq.

Tents are common props in plays commemorating Hossein's last days.

- REUTERS