More Than 100 Dead in Al-Hamdaniya Catastrophic Wedding Blaze in Iraq
(AWP) - Head of the Civil Defence Directorate in the Iraqi governorate of Nineveh said on Wednesday that the fire that broke out in a wedding hall in al-Hamdaniya district resulted in more than 100 deaths.
Iraqi news agency (INA) quoted a statement issued by the directorate as saying that the events hall was "coated with highly flammable ecobond panels that violated safety regulations and the matter has been referred to the judiciary according to the Civil Defence Law in Nineveh Governorate".
The statement added that the fire that took place right before midnight "led to the collapse of parts of the hall as a result of the use of highly flammable, low-cost building materials that collapse within minutes when fire breaks out".
Nineveh Governor, Najim al-Jubouri, told reporters that the inferno was caused by launching fireworks inside the hall, describing the accident as a tragedy.
The Iraqi Ministry of Health said in a statement that more than 100 people were confirmed dead and more than 150 wounded as an initial tally of the fire.
According to a statement issued by the media office of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani is in contact with the Nineveh Governorate to estimate repercussions of the inferno.
Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari confirmed that civil defence teams managed to evacuate all the wounded persons from the accident’s venue.