BREAKING: Fire calamity claims 100 lives, injures 150 people at a wedding in Iraq
According to state media, a wedding fire in northern Iraq resulted in at least 100 fatalities and 150 injuries.
On Tuesday, late evening, a fire tore through the gathering in Al-Hamdaniya, in northern Nineveh region of Iraq.
Although the exact cause of the fire is yet unknown, initial indications indicate that pyrotechnics set it off.
It is unclear if the bride and the groom are among the deceased or hurt at the time of this report.
Initial reports in Iraqi media stated that they had perished in the fire, but news agency Nina later stated that they were still alive and receiving burn treatment.
Numerous firefighters can be seen battling the blaze in a snapshot Nina shared, while images released on social media by local journalists reveal the event hall’s scorched remnants.
It’s possible that the building’s flammable panels contributed to the flames’ growth and the ceiling’s partial collapse.
According to the civil defense directorate of Iraq, which was quoted by Iraq’s state news agency INA, “the fire led to the collapse of parts of the hall as a result of the use of highly flammable, inexpensive building materials that collapse within minutes when fire breaks out.”
In footage taken at the scene by a reporter for news agency Reuters early on Wednesday morning, firefighters could be seen scrambling over the building’s rubble in search of survivors.
At around 10:45 local time (19:45 GMT), hundreds of people were reportedly there to celebrate when the structure caught fire, according to eyewitnesses.
“We observed the flames pulsing as it emerged from the hall. Those who succeeded exited, but those who failed remained trapped. Even those who managed to flee the inferno were damaged, according to Imad Yohana, 34, a survivor, who spoke to Reuters.
Hassan al-Allaq, the deputy governor of Nineveh, told Reuters that 113 deaths had been confirmed; however, the state news agency INA estimated that at least 100 people had died and 150 had been injured.
According to the governor of the area, INA, the injured have been sent to hospitals throughout the Nineveh region. He asserted that the number of fatalities and injuries was not constant and might even increase.
Dozens of people showed up at the major hospital in Hamdaniya, a town east of Mosul, to donate blood to help the injured.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, the prime minister of Iraq said that he had instructed officials to “mobilise all efforts to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate incident.”
(BBC)