Another fire play at a corona station in Iraq.
The death toll from a massive fire in the Corona ward of a hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah has risen to 64.
So far 39 bodies have been identified and handed over to their relatives, the forensic medical representative said on Tuesday. According to him, the victims can be buried under the rubble.
The AFP news agency learned from hospital sources that the fire was triggered by the explosion of oxygen bottles. Health Authority spokesman Haider al-Samili said people had died from severe burns.
Some passersby filmed the fire play and posted videos on the networkPhoto: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Al-Samili first gave the total number of beds in the Corona Ward to 60 and then adjusted it to 70. Sixteen patients were rescued from the burning ward. Initially, 41 people were killed and five were injured.
Sixteen patients were rescued from the burning corona ward of Al Hussein HospitalPhoto: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Al-Hussein Hospital is located in Nasiriyah, 370 kilometers south of the capital, Baghdad.
Videos circulating on the internet show huge chimneys rising from Al-Hussein Hospital. The local fire brigade was able to bring the fire under control.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Qadimi held an emergency meeting with ministers and security chiefs to determine the cause of the fire, his office said Tuesday morning (local time).
Police and firefighters in front of a hospital in NasiriyahPhoto: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The corona ward of the hospital was completely destroyedPhoto: KALID AL-MOUSILY / REUTERS
Nasiriya Al Hussein Hospital after the firePhoto: Khalid Al-Mawsili / REUTERS
In April alone, a corona clinic in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, was destroyed, killing 82 people and wounding 110 others. The then health minister, Hassan al-Tamimi, resigned in response to the fire, which was said to have been caused by improper storage of oxygen bottles.
About 1.4 million cases of corona virus have been reported in Iraq so far. Vaccines are slowly advancing there. According to our global data from the Statistics website, less than two percent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
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