Iranians are partaking in their thousands in a funeral ceremony for the 16 firefighters, who lost their lives battling a massive blaze that recently consumed a high-rise in downtown Tehran.

The ceremony, which is being held in the capital’s Grand Mosalla on Monday, was attended by a group of senior officials, including cabinet ministers and lawmakers.

A procession carried the bodies to the capital’s Behesht-e-Zahra Cemetery, where they will be laid to rest. Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani performed the funeral prayers for the victims.

Picture taken on January 30, 2017 shows people attending a funeral ceremony for the firefighters, who died in a massive blaze in central Tehran earlier in the month. (Photo by IRNA)

A memorial ceremony is to follow on Wednesday.

The Plasco building, one of Tehran’s oldest high-rises, caught fire on January 19. Interior Minister Abdol-Reza Rahmani-Fazli said last week that an electrical short circuit was the main cause of the incident.

The aftermath of the blaze that engulfed the Plasco building in Tehran on January 9, 2017 (Photo by IRNA)

Despite immediate dispatch of firefighting teams to the premises, the fire raged on for three hours before the structure collapsed, caving in on the firefighters and a number of citizens.

Read more:

Nine consecutive days of relief and rescue operations retrieved the bodies of 15 firefighters and four civilians. One other firefighter succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

On Sunday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei issued a message, eulogizing the firefighters.