At least 61 people killed in hypermarket fire in Iraq
Iraq's interior ministry said more than 45 others had been rescued, while 14 charred bodies recovered from the scene remained unidentified.
Mohammed Al Mayahi, the governor of Wasit province, of which Kut is the capital, announced a three-day mourning period after the 'tragic fire in one of the commercial centres' on Wednesday night.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but the governor said initial findings from an investigation would be announced within 48 hours, Iraq's state news agency reported.
Videos circulating on social media showed flames engulfing the five-storey hypermarket, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air as panicked shoppers rushed to escape. Firefighters raced to extinguish the blaze and rescue those trapped inside.
The interior ministry said most of the victims died from smoke inhalation while trapped in bathrooms.
Families, many with young children, were seen fleeing the scene, some clutching babies as they coughed and covered their faces to shield themselves from the smoke. Others were trapped on upper floors.
On Thursday morning, grieving families gathered outside the city's main hospital and morgue to pick up the bodies of their loved ones. Women were wailing and beating their chests in grief.
Safety standards in the construction sector are frequently flouted in Iraq, with accidents common. Widespread corruption and weak government monitoring have been blamed for the lack of standards in many areas of the country.
High-profile disasters in recent years include hospital fires that have led to hundreds of deaths, with these incidents blamed on poor storage of highly flammable oxygen cylinders, faulty electrical wiring and a general lack of safety measures.
In September 2023, a devastating wedding inferno left more than 100 people dead in the predominantly Christian district of Al Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh, to the east of Mosul, when about 1,000 guests were packed into a hall.
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