Fire at newly opened Iraq shopping mall kills more than 60
Article content
Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person told AFP that his five relatives died in an elevator.
Article content
The blaze — the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected — broke out late Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the five-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall.
Article content
Several people told AFP they lost families including mothers and children who had gone to shop and dine at the mall, days after it opened in Kut — around 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
Article content
Footage shared on social media showed people including children standing on the roof, calling for help.
Article content
Article content
Ali Kadhim, 51, has been shuttling between the mall and the main hospital, where the victims were taken, looking for his cousin, who is missing with his wife and three children.
Article content
Back at the mall, he waited anxiously as rescuers searched for victims in the wreckage, with an ambulance on standby.
Article content
'We don't know what happened to them,' he said.
Article content
An AFP correspondent at the scene said the blaze had been contained and the front of the building was severely charred.
Article content
The interior ministry said in a statement that 'the tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified.'
Article content
'We couldn't escape'
Article content
INA news agency later quoted a medical source who put the toll at 63 dead and 40 injured.
Article content
A medical source in Kut told AFP there were 'many unidentified bodies'.
Article content
Civil defence teams rescued more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, which includes a restaurant and a supermarket, the interior ministry said.
Article content
Ambulances ferried casualties as late as 4:00 am, with wards in Kut overwhelmed.
Article content
One man fell apart, pounding his chest and screaming.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
1 resident, 1 firefighter in hospital following 2-alarm fire in Brampton
One resident and one firefighter are in hospital following a two-alarm fire in Brampton on July 27. (Brampton Fire and Emergency Services/photo) One resident and one firefighter are in hospital following a two-alarm fire in Brampton. The blaze, which Brampton Fire and Emergency Services said is now under control, broke out late Sunday afternoon at a home in the area of McVean Drive and Ebenezer Road, just north of Queen Street, East near Claireville Conservation Area. The fire department said at this time primary searches have been completed. 'We will be remaining on scene continuing overhaul operations. Please continue to avoid the area,' it said. Brampton fire July 27 One resident and one firefighter are in hospital following a two-alarm fire in Brampton on July 27. (Brampton Fire and Emergency Services/photo) Brampton Fire ad Emergency Services had initially reported 'heavy smoke in the immediate vicinity' and was urging people to 'remain indoors and avoid the area.'
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Toronto Sun
Notre-Dame cathedral gets back St. Thomas statue adorning spire base
The statue was unaffected by the blaze, having been removed just days before for routine restoration Published Jul 25, 2025 • Last updated 7 minutes ago • 1 minute read The statue had been removed only days before a 2019 devastating fire. Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP PARIS — A statue of the apostle Saint Thomas was on Thursday returned to Notre-Dame in Paris, which has now recovered all 16 statues that adorned the base of its spire before a 2019 devasting fire. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The statue, three metres (10 feet) tall and weighing 100 kilograms (220 pounds), was unaffected by the blaze, having been removed from the cathedral just days before for routine restoration, along with the other 15. 'It's almost a miracle,' said Marie-Helene Didier, in charge of historic buildings in the Paris region. 'It's a very powerful symbol to see all the statues up there,' she told AFP. After receiving a blessing from the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, it was heaved on the spire's base by crane. The statue, currently hidden behind by scaffolding around the spire, will be fully visible by the end of August. Notre-Dame nearly burned down in 2019, but was fully renovated inside and fitted with a new roof and spire during a frenzied five-year refit. It held its first mass since the blaze in December, and reopened to the public shortly after. The 16 statues, representing the 12 apostles as well the four evangelists in the Catholic tradition, were designed in 1857 by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, the architect of the spire, and sculpted by Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume. Geoffroy-Dechaume gave the statue of Saint Thomas, patron saint of architects, the features of Viollet-le-Duc. The exact cause of the 2019 blaze has never been identified despite a forensic investigation, which pointed to a likely accident such as an electrical fault. Toronto & GTA Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls News
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Toronto Sun
Thai woman herds cats under fire in Cambodia clashes
Published Jul 25, 2025 • 2 minute read Thai seamstress Pornpan Sooksai did not hesitate to corral her quintet of cats to safety, even as the cross-border blasts from Cambodia rang out Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP SURIN, Thailand — When the first salvo of Cambodian artillery screamed across her village, Thai seamstress Pornpan Sooksai's thoughts turned to her five beloved cats: Peng, Kung Fu, Cherry, Taro and Batman. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'I suddenly heard a loud bang,' the 46-year-old told AFP. 'Then our neighbour shouted, 'They've started shooting!' So everyone scrambled to grab their things.' Nearly 140,000 people have been evacuated from the Thai frontier, fleeing with the belongings dearest to them as the country trades deadly strikes with neighbouring Cambodia for a second day. Pornpan was hanging out laundry in her village in the border district of Phanom Dong Rak, but did not hesitate to corral her quintet of cats — even as the cross-border blasts rang out. 'Luckily they were still in the house. I put them in crates, loaded everything into the truck, and we got out,' she said at a shelter in nearby Surin city, camping out alongside her fellow evacuees. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tensions have been building between Thailand and Cambodia since late May, when a Cambodian soldier was shot dead in a firefight over a long-contested border region. Tit-for-tat trade curbs and border closures escalated into conflict on Thursday, and each side has accused the other of firing the opening shot in the battle now being waged with jets, artillery, tanks and troops. At least 16 people have been killed, according to tolls from both sides, the majority of them civilians. But Pornpan was well-prepared to save her felines. 'Since I heard about the possible conflict two months ago, I stocked up on food and bought cat carriers,' she said. 'If I leave the cats behind, they'd die.' Alongside her cats, Ponrpan also evacuated nine other family members, including her elderly mother with Alzheimer's. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The process took its toll once the adrenaline wore off midway through their escape. 'I was terrified the whole time. I was scared the bombs would hit us or the house,' she said. 'I had a panic attack in the car. My body went numb. I had to go to hospital during the evacuation.' At the Surin city shelter her cats have been installed in their portable kennels — drawing curious children waiting out the conflict alongside their parents on the gymnasium floor. Skittish from the sudden onset of gunfire, they are slowly recovering from their ordeal. 'One kept trying to escape its crate, wouldn't eat and kept crying,' Pornpan said. 'Another one was panting -– maybe heatstroke. I had to splash water on it.' Toronto & GTA Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls News
