July 13, 2021: At least 50 people have been killed after a fire broke out in an isolated ward at a hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.
The death toll is expected to rise, as a search operation continues at Al-Hussein Corona Virus Hospital after the fire was brought under control. Sixteen people were rescued from the burning building. “The victims were burnt to death and a search is under way,” said Haider al-Zamili, a spokesman for the local health department. There are fears that many victims are still trapped inside the building. Initial police reports said there was a risk of an oxygen tank explosion in the hospital’s Covid 19 ward, a fire official said.
A health worker told Reuters before entering the burning building, “The intense fire has trapped many patients in the Corona virus ward and rescue teams are struggling to reach them.” Videos shared online show thick clouds of washing from Hussain Hospital. Earlier on Monday, a small fire broke out at the health ministry’s headquarters in Baghdad, but no immediate deaths were reported.
This is the second hospital fire tragedy this year. In April, a fire at a Baghdad Covid19 hospital killed 82 people and injured 110, who were badly stored in oxygen cylinders. Many of the victims were being treated for Covid-19, which resulted in burns or suffocation. Dozens of relatives were visiting patients in the intensive care unit. The then health minister, Hassan al-Tamimi, resigned after a fire broke out in April. Ending the war and sanctions, Iraq’s healthcare system has struggled to cope with the corona virus crisis, which has killed 17,592 people and affected 1.44 million.
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