In the largest Christian town in Iraq, a fire broke out during a wedding, resulting in at least 100 fatalities and 150 injuries.
At the time, hundreds were partying in a banqueting hall in Qaraqosh in Nineveh Province.
Although the fire’s origin is unknown, some reports claim fireworks were the cause.
According to fire officials, flammable panels fuelled the flames, causing some of the ceiling to catch fire and collapse.
“The fire led to the collapse of parts of the hall as a result of the use of highly flammable, low-cost building materials that collapse within minutes when fire breaks out,” Iraq’s civil defense directorate said, quoted by state news agency INA.
It was not immediately clear if the bride and the groom were among the victims.
Video that was posted online showed the couple dancing before flaming chunks started to fall onto the dance floor.
On Wednesday morning, firefighters could be seen clambering over the building’s rubble in an effort to locate survivors.
On Tuesday at about 22:45 local time (19:45 GMT), hundreds of people were reportedly inside the venue when it caught fire, according to eyewitnesses.
“We saw the fire pulsating, coming out of the hall. Those who managed got out and those who didn’t got stuck. Even those who made their way out were broken,” Imad Yohana, a 34-year-old who escaped the inferno, told Reuters.
The bride and groom were slow dancing when, according to Rania Waad, another wedding guest who received burns to her hand, “fireworks started to climb to the ceiling, the whole hall went up in flames”.
Another survivor said several members of his family were among the victims.
“I couldn’t find her after. I searched for my daughter, my son, my wife, my father and I couldn’t find them. They are gone.”
The prime minister of Iraq wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he had instructed officials to “mobilise all efforts to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate incident”.
Uncertainty surrounds the reported victim count. Hassan al-Allaq, the deputy governor of Nineveh, told Reuters that 113 deaths had been confirmed, while the Red Crescent humanitarian organization estimated that nearly 450 people had been killed and injured overall.
The regional governor warned INA that the amount of fatalities and injuries could increase.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed, some media reports claim the couple held a Christian wedding.
Before IS took control of Qaraqosh in 2014 and the majority of its residents fled persecution, it was the largest Christian town in Iraq.
Before the group was driven out by Iraqi and US-led coalition forces in 2016, IS militants committed numerous atrocities against the Christians who were still there, and it is estimated that more than 2,000 homes were set ablaze.
Source-BBC
