Fire Breaks Out During Wedding in Iraq; Over 100 Dead, More Than 150 Wounded

At least 100 people were killed and over 150 were injured early Wednesday when a fire broke out at a wedding inside an event hall in the northern Iraqi town of Hamdaniyah, news agency AFP said in a report.

Health officials from Iraq’s Nineveh province who rushed to the spot said they have counted at least 100 dead and more than 150 injured in the fire. The Iraqi state-run press agency INA and an official from the nation’s health ministry said it is a preliminary tally.

News agency AFP said several ambulances rushed to the accident site and people gathered in the courtyard to donate blood. People also gathered at the doors of a refrigerated truck carrying several black body bags, as seen in pictures released by the news agency.

The report by Associated Press said flames engulfed the wedding hall and once the fire was doused only charred metal and debris could be seen as people walked through the scene of the fire, with lights coming from TV cameras and the lights of onlookers’ mobile phones.

“All efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate accident,” health ministry spokesperson Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr said.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the fire and asked the country’s Interior and Health officials to provide relief

Hamdaniyah is a predominantly Christian town east of Mosul.

Iraqi authorities said there were “highly flammable” prefabricated panels which “contravened safety standards” inside the wedding hall that caught fire. “The fire caused some parts of the ceiling to fall due to the use of highly flammable, low-cost construction materials. Preliminary information indicates that fireworks were used during a wedding, which triggered a fire in the hall,” the statement said.

Safety standards in Iraq’s construction and transport sectors are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, is regularly the scene of fatal fires and accidents, news agency AFP said in its report.

The Iraqi news agencies citing officials also said that the wedding hall’s exterior was decorated with highly flammable cladding that was illegal in the country.