The event was supposed to be a joy, but it turned into horror. At least 100 people died in Iraq and 150 others were injured in a fire during a wedding at a community center in Hamdaniyah, a small town in the north of the country, on Tuesday night.
Health authorities in Nineveh, the province where Hamdaniyah is located, “have recorded 100 deaths and more than 150 injured,” Iraq’s official press agency INA said, citing a “preliminary assessment.” Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr confirmed this report.
The materials of the room in question
At the main hospital in Hamdaniyah, a small predominantly Christian town east of the metropolis of Mosul, several ambulances arrived with sirens blaring. Dozens of people gathered in the courtyard of the facility, relatives of victims or local residents who came to donate their blood. Residents also gathered outside the open doors of a refrigerated truck carrying several black body bags.
Civil Defense reported the presence of prefabricated panels that were “highly flammable and violated safety standards” in the party room where the tragedy occurred. “The fire caused parts of the ceiling to collapse due to the use of highly flammable and inexpensive construction materials,” said the same source. “Preliminary information suggests that fireworks were used during a wedding, causing a fire at the venue.”
In Iraq, safety standards are poorly adhered to, be it in the construction or transport sectors. The country, whose infrastructure is in poor condition after decades of conflict, is regularly the scene of fires or fatal domestic accidents.