Horrific moment Iraqi wedding fire kills at least 100, injures 150 ‘Fire caused by fireworks spreads through hall’ – fears the death toll will rise

At least 100 people were killed and 150 injured in a fire at a wedding ceremony in the Hamdaniya district of Iraq’s Nineveh province, Iraqi state media said on Wednesday morning.

Local civil defense said a fire broke out at a large event hall in the country’s north-eastern region after fireworks were lit during celebrations, according to state media.

Civil defense officials were quoted by the Iraqi News Agency as saying that the exterior of the wedding hall was decorated with highly flammable covering, which was illegal in the country.

Nineveh provincial governor Najim al-Jubouri said some of the injured had been transferred to regional hospitals. He cautioned that there is no final number of casualties yet from the fire, suggesting the death toll could still rise.

According to official statements, ambulances and medical teams were dispatched to the scene by federal Iraqi authorities and authorities from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.

Television footage showed burnt debris inside the wedding hall and a man shouting at firefighters.

Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr reported the number of casualties through the state-run Iraqi news agency.

Nineveh provincial governor Najim al-Jubouri said some of the injured had been transferred to regional hospitals. He cautioned that there is no final number of casualties yet from the fire, suggesting the death toll could still rise

“All efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate accident,” Al-Badr said.

It was not immediately clear why officials in Iraq allowed the cladding to be used on the hall, although corruption and mismanagement remain endemic two decades after the US-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein.

Although some types of cladding can be made from fire-resistant materials, experts say the fires that have broken out in wedding halls and elsewhere were not designed to meet strict safety standards and are often slow-moving. They were installed on buildings without any brakes to stop them. Possible explosion.

This includes the 2017 Grenfell fire in London, which killed 72 people, the largest fire on British soil since World War II, as well as several high-rise buildings in the United Arab Emirates.