Over 100 Killed After Massive Fire at Iraq Wedding Party

Iraq – Over 100 people were killed and 150 injured in a massive fire at a wedding party in Iraq, which left the civil defence searching the charred skeleton of a building for survivors into the early hours of Wednesday. 

Health authorities in Nineveh province have counted 100 dead and more than 150 injured in the fire at a marriage hall in Hamdaniyah, the official Iraqi press agency INA reported,

At the main hospital in Hamdaniyah, a predominantly Christian town east of Mosul, a photographer saw several ambulances arriving with sirens blaring and dozens of people gathering in the courtyard to donate blood.

Some people were also seen gathering at the doors of a refrigerated truck carrying several black body bags.

In a statement, civil defence authorities reported the presence of prefabricated panels that were "highly flammable and contravened safety standards" inside the event hall where the blaze took place.

"The fire caused some parts of the ceiling to fall due to the use of highly flammable, low-cost construction materials," the statement remarked. 

"Preliminary information indicates that fireworks were used during a wedding, which triggered a fire in the hall."

Safety standards in Iraq's construction and transport sectors are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, is regularly the scene of fatal fires and accidents.