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UPI
5 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Dozens killed in Iraqi shopping mall fire
Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City in September of 2024. File Photo by Peter Foley/UPI. | License Photo July 17 (UPI) -- Several people are dead and an investigation is underway after a fire destroyed a five-story shopping mall in Iraq on Wednesday evening. In a press release, the Iraqi Interior Ministry announced Thursday that 61 people died in the blaze, which occurred in a mall located in the city of Kut, in the province of Wasit. The ministry reported that most of the victims "suffocated inside the bathrooms as a result of heavy smoke," and that 14 were so badly burned they remain unidentified. However, 45 people were also rescued from the fire by civil defense teams. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani announced Thursday that he has directed the Minister of the Interior, Abdul Amir al-Shammari, to form an investigation committee. The Iraqi Interior Ministry then announced Thursday the committee has been formed to "investigate the real causes of the fire, and identify the locations of the defect and the responsibility accurately and transparently." The head of the Wasit security committee, Habib al-Badri, told the New York Times that the fire was caused by an electric malfunction, and that the situation was worsened by subpar building construction and an overwhelmed rescue service. "There was a lack of emergency exits and emergency ladders and extinguishers," al-Badri said. "And unfortunately, the province was not prepared for such an incident." Wasit Province Governor Mohammed al-Miyahi said Thursday that "we will not show leniency toward those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident, which is surrounded by suspicious circumstances."
CBC
5 days ago
- CBC
At least 60 people killed after fire breaks out in eastern Iraq shopping mall
A fire at a newly opened mall in eastern Iraq's Wasit province killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. Iraq's interior ministry said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them from suffocation, in the fire that broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut. Among the dead were 14 charred bodies that remain unidentified, it said. Civil defence teams were able to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, the statement said. The mall, which had opened only a week earlier, was in a five-storey building that also contained a restaurant and supermarket. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that people remained missing. Photographs and videos on local media showed the building fully engulfed in flames. Provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Mayyeh in a statement declared three days of mourning. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation but that legal cases were filed against the building owner and mall owner. He did not specify what the charges were. "We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident," al-Mayyeh said. The results of the preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours, he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he had directed the interior minister to go to the site of the fire to investigate and take measures to prevent a recurrence. 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 fuelled 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.
CBS News
5 days ago
- CBS News
Fire tears through Iraq mall, kills at least 61, most from suffocation, officials say
Baghdad — A fire at a newly opened mall in eastern Iraq's Wasit province killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. The nation's Interior Ministry said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them from suffocation, in the blaze that broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut. Among the dead were 14 charred bodies that remain unidentified, the ministry said. French news agency AFP reports the ministry said most of the dead were found in bathrooms. Civil defense teams were able to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, the statement said. The mall, which opened only a week ago, was in a five-story building that also contained a restaurant and supermarket. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that people remained missing. Photographs and videos on local media showed the building fully engulfed in flames. Provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Mayyeh in a statement declared three days of mourning. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation but that legal cases were filed against the building owner and mall owner. He didn't specify what the charges were. "We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident," al-Mayyeh said. The results of the preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours, he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he had directed the interior minister to go to the site of the fire to investigate and take measures to prevent a recurrence. Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. A blaze in July 2021 at a hospital in the city of Nasiriyah that killed between 60 to 92 people was determined to have been fueled by a 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. Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. In July 2021, a blaze at a hospital in the city of Nasiriyah that killed as many as 92 people was determined to have been fueled by a 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.
