A fire at a wedding reception in Iraq killed at least 114 people and injured another 200. The governor of the northern Nineveh province, Najim al-Djabouri, said this on Wednesday night. Ministry of Health spokesman Saif al-Badr spoke of 100 dead and 150 injured. Images of the disaster showed a hall collapsed and set on fire in the city of Al-Hamdanija.
In videos on social media that were supposed to show moments before the fire, burning parts of the room’s panels appear to fall from the ceiling. Wedding guests jump from tables and try to get to safety. The engaged couple on the dance floor appears to be in a state of shock. In other videos, the wedding party can be seen shortly before dancing and chatting at the tables. Survivors later said on television that the bride and groom survived.
© Image: EPA/MOHAMAD SAIF
Civil defense explained that the hall used for weddings was equipped with a highly flammable coating. This violated security requirements and did not have a mandatory alarm system. “The fire caused the partial collapse of the pavilion because cheap and highly flammable construction materials were used, which collapse in a few minutes in the event of a fire,” said the civil protection authority.
Rescue teams searched for survivors under the rubble of the burned hall. Crowds of people gathered in front of the accident site at night. Local television stations showed images of dead bodies covered with sheets in the streets and ambulances. Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr said this morning that the situation was under control.
Around 1,000 people were in the hall when the fire occurred, deputy Ichlas al-Dulaimi told Rudaw. Walls and ceilings collapsed. Families would search for their loved ones and hospitals would treat many injured people with burns. She spoke of a “great disaster”.
Al-Hamdaniya is located near Mosul, in the northwest of the country, and about a five-hour drive from the capital Baghdad. It was initially unclear why highly flammable material was allegedly used in the construction of the hall. Rampant corruption and mismanagement in Iraq also affect the construction sector. Some eyewitnesses said fireworks started the fire, but there was no official confirmation of this.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani ordered the Ministries of Interior and Health to provide all possible assistance to those affected. Al-Sudani also called Governor Al-Djabouri that night to ask about the effects of the fire, state news agency INA reported.