Heavy Toll Feared in Collapse of Baghdad Building

A heavy casualty toll was feared today in the collapse of an eight-story office building in central Baghdad that was damaged by an Iranian missile three years ago.

Scores of people were believed trapped, many of them passersby. Squads of Egyptian street repairers were working outside the building when it crumbled.

The building was cracked by a rocket attack in the Iran-Iraq “War of the Cities,” when Tehran and Baghdad fired missiles at civilian targets.

First reports of the Tuesday accident were published today by the government newspaper Al Thawra, which gave no casualty figure. It referred to an unspecified number of deaths as “murder” and demanded that those responsible be brought to justice.

The area was sealed off as rescuers helped by earthmoving equipment searched for many victims believed trapped in the debris.