Ali Malek, an employee of Ibac, the company responsible for updating the airport’s control tower navigation system, was present in the hall just an hour before the incident. Malek observed the dangerous situation developing due to the removal of the column and the growing weight of the snow on the roof. Realizing the impending danger, he immediately alerted the secretary of the information office and the hall manager. However, despite the warning, the hall manager did not take any immediate action. Instead, he reassured Malek that the situation was under control, claiming that the operation was “completely controlled and engineered.” Tragically, the manager’s confidence proved to be misplaced, and the roof eventually collapsed, causing significant loss of life and injuries.
The Victims: A Linguist Among the Casualties
Among the victims of the Mehrabad Airport roof collapse was Jalil Tohidi, a respected Iranian linguist who had made significant contributions to the field of Persian linguistics. Tohidi, who had completed his Ph.D. in linguistics at the University of London, was in the waiting hall when the roof fell. He suffered a broken leg in the initial collapse and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.Unfortunately, he developed a blood clot and died about a week later, making his loss even more tragic. Tohidi had made significant academic contributions to the study of modern Persian phonetics, and his doctoral thesis, titled A Study in Modern Persian Phonetics, became an essential textbook in Iranian universities. His work focused on the tone and related features of the Persian language, and his contributions to the field were widely recognized, with figures like Ali Mohammad Haghshenas dedicating books to him in honor of his work.