Over 100 dead in fire at Nineveh wedding party

Chenar Chalak

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tragedy struck a wedding party in Nineveh province's Hamdaniya district late Tuesday after a massive fire engulfed the wedding hall, killing more than 100 of the ceremony’s attendees and wounding hundreds others.

Nineveh Governor Najm al-Jabouri told Rudaw early Wednesday that at least 114 people had lost their lives in the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by fireworks.

There is no confirmed data on the number of wounded at this time, but Jabouri said that over 200 people were injured in the fire.

"The safest injury registered with us had 40 percent of their body burned and we took them to the Hamdaniya hospital,” Ahmed Dubardani, deputy head of the Nineveh health directorate, told Rudaw, adding that around 60 people were in critical conditions.

There were reportedly over 1,000 people in attendance at the wedding party when the fire broke out.

“The fire spread very quickly and the matter was exacerbated by the toxic gas emissions associated with the burning of the highly flammable Ecobond plastic panels,” read a statement from the Iraqi civil defense, adding that they have launched an investigation into the incident to verify the cause of the fire.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani held a phone call with Jabouri in the early hours of Wednesday to discuss the tragic accident, and directed the health and interior ministries to “mobilize all efforts to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate incident,” according to a statement from his office.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani extended his condolences the families of the victims of the Hamdaniya wedding hall fire incident, stressing that Erbil stands ready to help support all efforts to treat the wounded.

“In this difficult and painful time, our thoughts are with them and we are ready to help them,” he added.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also extended his condolences to the families of the victims of the tragic Hamdaniya fire incident, reiterating that Erbil stands ready to provide help in any way possible.

Kurdistan Region Health Minister Saman Barzinji announced that hospitals in the Kurdish capital city of Erbil are open to treating those who were wounded in the tragic incident.

 

"Upon an order from [Kurdistan Region] Prime Minister Masrour Barzani… Tens of ambulances, medical teams, and emergency workers in Hamdaniya district are treating and transferring the wounded to Erbil,” said Barzinji.

Of the injured, 21 are reportedly being transferred to hospitals in Erbil and 36 to hospitals in Duhok. 

"Shocked and pained by the horrible loss of life and injuries in the fire in Ninewa’s Hamdaniya.  An immense tragedy," read a statement by United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), extending condolences to the victims' families and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

Iraq is known for frequent fires during the summer, whether in government buildings or private facilities, but a recent string of fires at this time of the year raises concerns about the adequacy of the preventive measures that the government pledged to tackle over two years ago, after a series of blazes destroyed major hospitals, leaving dozens dead and injured.

Iraq’s civil defense directorate in August announced that they had recorded more than 19,000 fire incidents across all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, since the start of the year. Over 32,000 fires were reported for 2022.

Hamdaniya district, located nearly 40 kilometers southeast of Mosul, has a Christian majority population.

Updated 10:11 AM