• At least 100 killed in fire at wedding party, bride and groom among 150 injured

    International
    At least 100 killed in fire at wedding party, bride and groom among 150 injured
    Some people could be seen swarming around the doors of a refrigerated truck that was hauling several black body bags...

    Digital Desk: As many as 100 people were killed and more than 150 were injured after a fire broke out during a wedding at an event hall in the northern Iraqi town of Hamdaniyah, state media and health officials said early Wednesday.

    According to a "preliminary tally" confirmed to AFP by a representative for the Iraqi health ministry, health authorities in the Nineveh area "have counted 100 dead and more than 150 injured in the fire at a marriage hall in Hamdaniyah".

    An AFP photographer captured the arrival of several ambulances with sirens blaring and dozens of people gathering in the courtyard to donate blood at the main hospital in Hamdaniyah, which is mostly a Christian village east of Mosul.





    Additionally, some people could be seen swarming around the doors of a refrigerated truck that was hauling several black body bags.

    Civil defence officials revealed in a statement that the event hall where the fire broke out reported the presence of prefabricated panels that were "highly flammable and contravened safety standards."

    The statement added that the use of cheap, extremely combustible construction materials "caused the fire to cause some parts of the ceiling to fall."

    According to preliminary information, fireworks were used at a wedding, which caused a fire in the hall.

    The country's infrastructure is in disarray as a result of decades of conflict, and safety norms in the building and transportation industries are frequently violated. As a result, tragic fires and accidents frequently occur in Iraq.