In Iraq, a fire at a wedding ceremony killed hundreds and injured 150

The tragedy happened in the middle of the night when hundreds of people were celebrating a wedding in a village hall in northern Iraq. At least 100 people died and 150 were injured in the fire at the complex. “Preliminary Assessment” It was announced by health authorities of Nineveh province on Wednesday September 27, and confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) by Saif al-Badr, spokesman for the Ministry of Health.

At the main hospital in Hamdania, also known as Qaraqosh, a small Christian town near Mosul, an AFP photographer saw several ambulances arrive, sirens blaring. After midnight on Wednesday, dozens of people gathered in the yard of the establishment, relatives of the victims or residents coming to donate their blood, according to the same source.

According to the photographer, residents gathered in front of the open doors of a refrigerated truck carrying several black body bags. “Most of the injured are suffering from burns and suffocation”Mr. Al-Badr said, and reported jostling.

“We can’t see anything, we’re suffocating”

Referring to the intervention in the village hall where rescuers extinguished the fire, Civil Defense reported the presence of prefabricated panels. “Highly flammable and violates safety standards”.

“Preliminary information suggests that firecrackers were used during the wedding, which caused a fire at the venue.”, adds the Civil Defense press release. There were flames “Ceiling areas fell due to use of highly flammable and cheap construction materials”, according to the same source. The risk is further increased “Due to the release of toxic gases linked to the burning of the panels” Contains plastic.

17-year-old Rania Wad, who suffered burns on her hand, is being treated at Hamdania Hospital along with her sister. Married people “They danced slowly, fireworks started going up to the ceiling and the whole room caught fire”The teenager says in a choked voice, referring to the guests “a lot”. “We can’t see anything, we’re suffocating, we don’t know how to get out”.

An AFP photographer could see rescue workers and police officers surveying the site by the light of torches and cellphones amid the rubble of the village hall, where iron chairs were piled among hanging iron chairs. From the roof.

Aid trucks from Baghdad

In a brief statement, Prime Minister Mohammed Zia al-Saudani called on the ministers of health and interior. “Gather all rescue efforts” To help those suffering from grief. For its part, the Ministry of Health announced “Sending Medical Aid Trucks” Baghdad, 400 km to the south, and other provinces of the country, ensuring the mobilization of its Nineveh ranks. “Take Care of the Wounded”.

In Iraq, safety standards are poorly respected in the construction sector or the transport sector. After decades of conflict, its infrastructure is in disrepair, with frequent fires or fatal domestic accidents. In July 2021, more than 60 people died in a fire in a hospital’s Covid unit in southern Iraq. A few months earlier, in April, more than 80 people died in a fire at a Baghdad hospital dedicated to Covid after exploding oxygen bottles.