UPDATED CNN story:
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Fire broke out at a mosque in central Tehran during Monday evening prayers, killing at least 59 worshippers and injuring more than 250 others, according to the official news agency.
The fire at the Arg Mosque was sparked by an electrical malfunction, according to the report.
Hundreds of worshippers had gathered for evening prayers when the blaze began.
Tehran Police Chief Brigadier General Morteza Talaie was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying the death toll rose to 59 from the earlier report of 25 deaths.
IRNA quoted rescue workers as saying more than 250 people were injured in the fire.
The mosque walls were charred, carpets were burned and religious books, including the Quran, were destroyed. After the fire, burned shoes and women's black chadors left behind by fleeing worshippers were scattered in the mosque yard.
The injured, some of them in critical condition, were taken to nearby hospitals. Relatives gathered outside to await news of their loved ones.
"My brother has been seriously injured. What a calamity," said Masoumeh Ebrahimi, wiping her tears with a corner of her chador, a head-to-toe covering.
Reza Pourbaradaran, a district resident, complained that firefighters arrived too late.
"Firefighters arrived one hour after the fire broke and when serious damage had been done," he said.
The television said firefighters extinguished the fire an hour after it started.
Workers were seen late in the evening cleaning the debris and wiping away the black smoke marks from the entrance.
The mosque is close to the historic Golestan Palace where Reza Khan was crowned as Reza Shah Pahlavi in the 1920s and the huge Tehran bazaar, the heart of business in the capital.
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Looks like Ahreeman paid a visit