NINEVEH: More than 100 people were killed and 150 injured in fire at wedding party in Hamdaniya district in Iraq’s Nineveh province that left civil defence searching charred skeleton of a building for survivors into early hours.

Nineveh Deputy Governor Hassan al-Allaq told Reuters that 113 people had been confirmed dead, with state media putting death toll at least 100, with 150 people injured.

Fire ripped through large events hall in north-eastern region after fireworks were lit during celebration, local civil defence said, according to state media.

“We saw fire pulsating, coming out of hall. Those who managed got out and those who didn’t got stuck. Even those who made their way out were broken,” said Imad Yohana, 34-year-old who escaped inferno.

Video from Reuters’ correspondent at site showed firefighters clambering over charred wreckage of building, shining lights over smoldering ruins.  Preliminary information indicated that building was made of highly flammable construction materials, contributing to its rapid collapse, state media said.

Ambulances and medical crews were dispatched to site by federal Iraqi authorities and Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, according to official statements.  Eyewitnesses at site said building caught fire around 10:45pm local time and that hundreds of people were in attendance at time of incident.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 28 2023

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