In Iraq, a crowd at a wedding holds a wake for burn victims
This Wednesday (27), a crowd formed in the Iraqi city of Qaraqosh to mourn the victims of a fire that broke out at a wedding celebration in the area.
A line of trucks brought the bodies for burial.
The majority of Qaraqosh residents are Christians, so there was a ceremony in a church. There are also many Iraqis there who belong to a minority called Yazidis.
The region was taken over by the Islamic State in 2014. At that time, a large part of the population fled. Their return began in 2017 when the Islamic State was removed from the city.
There are around 300,000 Christian Iraqis. Many others, around 1.2 million, left the country after 2003, when the United States invaded the country.
According to the state news agency, 113 people died and more than 150 were injured in the fire at the wedding reception. The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday (26).
1 of 3 Firefighter on scene after a fatal fire at a wedding reception in Hamdaniya district in Iraq’s Nineveh province, Iraq, on September 27, 2023. Photo: Portal/Khalid AlMousily Firefighter on scene after a fatal fire at a wedding reception in Hamdaniya district in Iraq’s Nineveh province, Iraq, on September 27, 2023. Photo: Portal/Khalid AlMousily
The causes of the fire are being investigated. According to initial information, the fire started because people were setting off fireworks in an enclosed area. The building in which the party took place was made of highly flammable material.
Nineveh, the province where the incident occurred, borders Syria and is close to Turkey.
2 of 3 trucks with body bags near a hospital in the city of AlHamdaniyah, Iraq, where a fire killed at least 100 people Photo: Zaid AlObeidi / AFP Trucks with body bags near a hospital in the city AlHamdaniyah, Iraq, where a fire killed at least 100 people Photo: Zaid AlObeidi / AFP 3 of 3 Soldiers and rescue workers deployed to treat fire victims at a wedding in Iraq on September 26, 2023 Photo : Zaid AlObeidi / AFP Soldiers and rescue workers deployed to help fire victims at a wedding in Iraq on September 26, 2023 Photo: Zaid AlObeidi / AFP