A fire broke out during a wedding in the district of Hamdaniya, southeast of the city of Mosul in the Nineveh Plain, a part of Iraq where Christians have lived for many centuries. The fire resulted in the death of at least 100 people and left over 150 others with severe burns or difficulty breathing from smoke inhalation, according to Iraqi officials.
The district’s mayor, Issam Behnam, stated that 85 people from Hamdaniya alone had died, including some of his own relatives.
Eyewitnesses reported that about 1,000 people were present in Al Haithem wedding hall when the fire started. It was said that flares were fired toward the ceiling as part of a wedding tradition, but they were supposed to be used outside. The bunting on the ceiling caught fire quickly, and the electricity went off almost immediately for unknown reasons.
Survivors described the chaos that ensued when the lights went out, with people hitting chairs and tables and falling to the ground. Ghazwan Ibrahim, one of the wedding guests, expressed his concern for his missing wife, son, and daughter. Gorges Yohana, another guest, mentioned the rapid spread of the fire and how he struggled to help others due to the smoke.
Efforts were made to allow people to escape by knocking openings in the wall with a bulldozer, but the influx of oxygen may have fueled the flames. Photos and videos on social media showed the building engulfed in smoke. Some individuals managed to escape through the front door, but it remains unclear if there were other exits or if they were open. Firefighters arrived at the scene, but there were initial reports that their hoses did not work.
There were speculations that the use of flares and flammable building materials in the hall contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. Pieces of the ceiling or decorations attached to it fell immediately after the flares were fired. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani called for an investigation into the cause of the fire.
The aftermath of the fire was marked by people searching through burned belongings.
2023-09-27 06:19:17
Link from www.nytimes.com