Northern Iraq wedding fire death toll rises to 119
Security officers inspecting the Al-Haitham Hall after a fire destroyed the place. Photo: EPA
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The health directorate in the northern Iraqi governorate of Nineveh announced on Wednesday that the death toll from the fire that broke out at a wedding party in Hamdaniya district last week rose to 119 people.
More than 20 people died due to burns in recent days, Shafaq News reported.
Eight people were reportedly buried in the Al-Hamdaniya district, east of the city of Mosul, on Tuesday.
The Iraqi Red Crescent Society said last week that more than 450 people died or were injured as a result of the fire that occurred in the Al-Haitham wedding hall.
An advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Interior stated this week that an investigation committee formed to investigate the circumstances of the fire has concluded that the fire was accidental.
The Iraqi Ministry of Interior confirmed that 14 people involved in the incident, including the owner of the wedding hall, were arrested.
The suspects are 10 of the wedding hall’s staff, the owner, and three others responsible for lighting off the fireworks that caused the fire.
The Civil Defense Directorate mentioned that the wedding hall was coated with easily ignited materials, breaching safety protocols, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Witnesses said the fire started after several fireworks were lit during the wedding before parts of the ceiling that caught fire started falling on people’s heads.