“A fire broke out at a house in Raniya at 1:30 am, Friday, leading to the death of a 60-year-old woman and two of her grandchildren who were between 6 and 12 years old,” Hussein Abdullah, spokesperson for Raparin’s civil defense units, told Rudaw.
Ten members of the family were at home when the fire broke out, he detailed.
“After our teams arrived at the scene, all of them were removed from the house, but three of them died and seven others were injured.”
Abdullah believes the fire was caused by an electric failure, but an investigation is ongoing.
A mobile phone plugged into a charger may have been the cause.
Amina Abdullah died at the scene. Her two grandchildren died hours after arriving at Sulaimani Emergency Hospital, according to Yad Naqshbandi, spokesperson for the province’s health directorate.
Amina Abdullah (L) and two of her grandchildren (not pictured) died in the fire. Photo: supplied
Three of the injured are still in hospital, he added. “They are the mother and two of her children – a boy, 9, and a girl, 10.”
The deaths were caused by smoke inhalation, he added.
A close relative of the victims told Rudaw that those in hospital were also severely burned.
“A considerable part of their faces have been exposed to burning and the skin of their faces has all been removed,” he said.
Some of have partially lost their eyesight and “can only utter few words that we cannot understand,” he added.
Their physician told Rudaw they had received six patients whose condition was not good “due to the penetration of smoke into their lungs.”
