Officials try to identify 18 bodies in deadly Iraq shopping mall fire
An Iraqi medical official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment said the final death toll was 63, including 18 bodies that could not be identified due to the severity of the burns and would undergo DNA testing.
The Corniche Hypermarket mall in the town of Kut in Wasit province, a five-story building containing restaurants, shops and a supermarket, had opened just days before the blaze, which officials said broke out late Wednesday on the second floor in an area selling perfume and cosmetics.
Civil defense crews were able to rescue 45 people from the burning building. Officials said that most of those who died were trapped on the upper floors.
While the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, officials blamed lack of safety standards in the building for the scale of the tragedy.
Provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Miyahi has said that the building owner did not implement fire safety measures and had not applied for required permits.
The provincial council of Wasit on Thursday voted to form committees to carry out building safety inspections and to suspend the director of Kut municipality and the director of occupational safety until investigations into the fire are complete.
Al-Miyahi said Thursday that legal complaints had been filed against the building owner and shopping center owner, who could not be reached for comment. The governor said in a press conference that the son of the shopping center owner and other members of his family were among the victims in the blaze.
Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. In July 2021, a blaze at a hospital in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah that killed between 60 to 92 people was determined to have been fueled by highly flammable, low-cost type of 'sandwich panel' cladding that is illegal in Iraq.
In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
1 Dead, Multiple Others Injured After Roof Collapses at a Family Dollar Store in Kansas City
A 68-year-old man died, and a 50-year-old woman was critically injured in the incident One person is dead and multiple others are injured after the roof of a Family Dollar store in Missouri partially collapsed. According to reports from the Kansas City Star, FOX 4 and NBC affiliate station KSHB 41, the incident took place at the store, located in midtown Kansas City, on Sunday, July 27. Michael Hopkins, a spokesperson for the Kansas City Fire Department (KCPD), told the outlets that the front facade of the store broke apart. Fire officials from the KCFD arrived on the scene at around 2:45 p.m. local time, he added. A 68-year-old man was killed, and a 50-year-old woman was critically injured, according to Hopkins. Two other people were treated for injuries and released. Officials have not yet shared what caused the Family Dollar building to partially collapse. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Several bystanders who were near the building when the incident occurred told KSHB they helped pull shoppers out from the rubble. Photos taken from the scene show police tape keeping onlookers away from dislodged bricks and other pieces of the wrecked building in the street. Hopkins told the local outlets that he didn't have information tied to when the building was last inspected. He added that the KCFD plans to look into the store's records, to see if any reports were made in the past about the building's structural integrity. Hopkins said the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) will now take over the investigation. In a statement to PEOPLE, a Family Dollar spokesperson said, "We are deeply saddened by the tragedy at the leased Family Dollar store on Broadway Boulevard in Kansas City." "Our hearts and thoughts are with those impacted. We are conducting wellness checks with our employees and offering them resources and assistance," the representative continued, adding: "The Company is conducting an investigation into this matter." Kansas City's Broadway Street, between 36th and 38th streets, is expected to remain closed while police investigate and debris is removed from the roads, the local outlets reported. Read the original article on People
CBS News
29 minutes ago
- CBS News
Armed robbers target multiple people in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood
Police issued a community alert Sunday about a string of armed robberies in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. In each incident, one to three robbers have approached the victims and demanded their property at gunpoint, police said. The robbers take the victims' property and flee either on foot or in a car that may be a dark-colored four-door sedan. Many of the robberies happened in broad daylight. The robberies happened at the following specific times and locations: The robbers are described as three teenage boys or young men, ages 14 to 20, armed with handguns. Anyone with information should call Calumet Area detectives at 312-747-8273, or submit an anonymous tip at and use reference #P25-02-005CA.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Parents Suing Funeral Homes They Claim Gave Them Late Son's Brain in Unmarked Box: 'We Pray This Doesn't Happen to Anyone Else'
The couple's lawyer called the discovery a "horrific tragedy" A couple in Pennsylvania is suing two funeral homes because they claim they were given their dead son's brain in an unlabeled box. On Thursday, July 24, Lawrence and Abbey Butler were joined by their lawyers to announce a lawsuit against the two funeral homes following the 2023 death of their son, Timothy Garlington. The pair is taking action against both Nix & Nix Funeral Homes in Philadelphia and Southern Cremations & Funerals in Georgia over what L. Chris Stewart, the couple's attorney, called a "horrific tragedy," per press conference footage shared by Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU. As the family and their lawyer revealed while speaking with local media, and as reported by the Associated Press, the two funeral homes are accused of giving the parents their late son's remains in an unmarked box. They claim the body part began to smell, leak into their car and even made contact with the father's hands. "It was, and it is still in my heart, that I got in my car and I smelled death," Lawrence told reporters emotionally as his wife stood beside him. "We just pray that this doesn't happen to anyone else again. I had to get rid of that car. I just couldn't stand the idea that the remains [were] in that car." The Butlers' son — a 56-year-old Marine veteran working as a financial aid director — died in Georgia in 2023, according to Stewart, before Southern Cremations shipped his body to Philadelphia's Nix & Nix. The second funeral home was "responsible for providing personal items" to the Butlers, having placed them on a table alongside the "unmarked box," he said. "The items were given to the family, and they were taken home," Stewart continued. "For them only to discover days later that there were remains in that white, unmarked box. How devastating of a mistake that was made by both funeral homes." As the lawyer alleged, the parents discovered they had possession of their son's remains when their car "started to smell," as the box began "leaking in their vehicle." He added that there is "no reason or justification" for Garlington's brain to have been placed "in a separate box." The discovery came days after Garlington's mother unsuccessfully attempted to open the container in front of the funeral home staff, according to Stewart. "To find out that it was his remains was just overwhelming," Lawrence added, speaking to reporters. "Even to this day, that they could do that. You rely on their professionalism to avoid this kind of situation. And that we would have to go through that," he continued. "Tim was the baby boy and was a good young man. This would just double up on the fact that we lost him to this day." Nix & Nix and Southern Cremations did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, July 26. ASV Partners, the company that owns Southern Cremations, declined to comment when contacted by the AP. According to the outlet, the Southern Cremations location is at Cheatham Hill. Speaking to the AP, Julian Nix of Nix & Nix said 'it was definitely not our fault' and claimed the first funeral home sent the parents the unlabeled box. The owner alleged they got in contact with authorities after learning of the remains in the box, and claimed that a state board overseeing funeral homes investigated the matter and found them not responsible. Per the AP, documents proving that have not been made available. Stewart said the family still does not know if their son's brain was buried with him, per the AP, which added that the family is seeking both answers and compensation. Lawrence told reporters that he hopes the funeral homes "learn a lesson" from the ordeal. "You really depend on them to get you through," he said. "And then to find out that they did not take the care to at least know what they were sending to us. ... We just trusted them to do what we thought should be done correctly. This was not done correctly at all." Read the original article on People
