October 08, 2021
A teenaged boy who died of severe burns after rescuing two neighbors trapped in a fire in their apartment building has become a national hero posthumously.
Fifteen-year-old Ali Landi died of his injuries September 24, two weeks after he helped the two women escape their burning home and tried to throw a gas cylinder out of the window to stop the fire spreading, Iranian media said.
The teenager died of “90 percent burns,” said Emam Kazem hospital in Esfahan, where he was transferred from his hometown of Izeh in the southwest.
The two neighbors, a woman in her eighties and her daughter, suffered superficial burns in the September 9 blaze, local media said.
Iranians saluted the teen-ager’s courage online, with many urging the Education Ministry to incorporate his story in school materials.
Supreme Leader Ali Kha-menehi granted the deceased youth the title of “martyr” after a public outpouring of calls for the youth to be elevated for his sacrifice.
President Ebrahim Raisi called on artists to “tell the story of sacrifice by such national heroes as a source of inspiration for future generations,” in a statement on his website.
A video circulating on social media showed his coffin being carried from the Esfahan hospital in front of an honor guard and a military band, before burial in his hometown.