More than 100 people have been killed and 150 injured after a fire broke out at a wedding hall hosting a Christian wedding ceremony in northern Iraq. Officials gave this information on Wednesday.
Officials have expressed fear that the death toll in the incident will increase further. He said that the incident took place in Hamdania area of Nineveh province of Iraq. The province is a predominantly Christian area just outside the northern city of Mosul, 335 kilometers northwest of the country’s capital, Baghdad.
In the footage shown on television, the marriage hall is seen surrounded by flames. Debris and items destroyed in the fire are visible all around. The injured were admitted to the local hospital and are kept on oxygen support. Arrangements for more oxygen cylinders are being made for the injured.
The health department of Nineveh province said the death toll had reached 114. Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr had earlier quoted Iraq’s state news agency as saying the number of injured was 150.
“Efforts are being made to provide relief to the victims of this tragic incident,” the spokesman said. A statement issued online by the Prime Minister’s Office said Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani was investigating the incident. Have ordered.
Nineveh provincial governor Nazim al-Jubouri said many of the injured had been referred to regional hospitals. He also said that this is not the final figure of casualties and the death toll is likely to increase further.
No official statement has been issued yet on the cause of the fire, but a television news channel in its news has expressed suspicion that the accident might have been caused by fireworks set off at the venue of the ceremony.
Iraqi news agency quoted civil defense officials as saying that highly flammable materials were used in the decoration of the exterior of the wedding venue, which is illegal in the country.
Civil Defense officer said, “The fire broke out due to the use of highly inflammable material and low-cost construction material, which took a huge turn within a short time and a part of the marriage hall collapsed due to the fire.”
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