Iraq Covid-19 Hospital Fire Death Toll Rises To 92

Death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital coronavirus ward in Iraq has climbed to at least 92, the Iraqi state news agency reported on July 13. The blaze that erupted on July 12 in the city of Nasiriyah was the second catastrophic fire in less than three months to kill hospitalised Covid-19 patients in Iraq, where the health care system has been crippled by decades of war & sanctions. Anguished relatives were still looking for traces of their loved ones on July 13 morning, searching through the debris of charred blankets and belongings inside the torched remains of the ward. Many cried openly, their tears tinged with anger, blaming both the provincial government of Dhi Qar, where Nasiriyah is located, and the federal government in Baghdad for years of mismanagement and neglect. Overnight, firefighters and rescuers, many with just flashlights and using blankets to extinguish small fires still smoldering in places, had frantically worked searching through the ward in the darkness.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi chaired an emergency meeting in the wake of the fire and ordered the suspension and arrest of the health director in Dhi Qar, as well as the director of the hospital and the city’s director of civil defense. A government investigation was also launched. Watch the video to know more.