At least 114 people were killed and more than 200 injured on Wednesday in a fire that broke out at a wedding party in Hamdaniyah, a small town in northern Iraq, health authorities said.
“The death toll is 114 and more than 200 are injured,” Nineveh Province Governor Najim al-Juburi said in statements to the press on the consequences of the fire.
“Every effort is being made to provide assistance to the victims of the accident,” Saif al-Badr, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Health, told INA.
Iraqi Civil Defense said that “fireworks were used during the wedding, causing a fire at the venue.”
The fire led to “parts of the ceiling falling down, due to the use of highly flammable building materials that violate safety standards,” he added in a statement to the press.
NEWS: A huge one #firework broke out during a wedding reception in #Iraq killing at least 100 people. More than 150 people were injured in the incident pic.twitter.com/d7I0NLYhge
– Gulf Independent News (@IndependentGulf) September 27, 2023
A deadly wedding in Mosul, Iraq
Governor of Mosul: At least 114 people were killed and more than 200 injured in this incident. Most of the victims died because the roof collapsed and was covered in rubble. pic.twitter.com/ruZ99LZgYo
– Everything you need to know (@Everything65687) September 27, 2023
At the main hospital in Hamdaniyah, a predominantly Christian city east of Mosul and about 335 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, an AFP photographer saw several ambulances arrive.
Dozens of people, including relatives of victims and residents, were present in the hospital courtyard to donate blood.
Nineveh province governor Najim al-Juburi said some injured people had been transferred to regional hospitals and warned the death toll could rise.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani ordered the mobilization of all resources to help those affected.
In Iraq, safety standards are poorly enforced, both in the construction and transport sectors. The country, whose infrastructure is in poor condition after decades of conflict, is regularly the scene of fires or fatal domestic accidents.
Source: DN
