Bride, Groom, Others Die At Wedding Party In Event Hall
Over 100 people, including the bride and groom were reportedly killed and 150 injured in a fire at a wedding party in the Hamdaniya district in Iraq’s Nineveh Province.
The tragedy which happened left rescuers searching the charred skeleton of a building for survivors into the early hours of Wednesday.
Nineveh Deputy Governor, Hassan al-Allaq said that 113 people had been confirmed dead.
State media also put the death toll at over 100, with 150 people injured.
According to State Media, Local Civil Defence said that the fire ripped through a large events hall in the North-Eastern region after fireworks were lit during the celebration.
“We saw the fire pulsating, coming out of the hall. Those who managed got out and those who didn’t got stuck. Even those who made their way out were broken,” said Imad Yohana, a 34-year-old who escaped the inferno.
Video from the site showed firefighters clambering over the charred wreckage of the building, shining lights over smouldering ruins.
Preliminary information indicated that the building was made of highly flammable construction materials, contributing to its rapid collapse.
Ambulances and medical crews were dispatched to the site by federal Iraqi authorities and Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, according to official statements.
Eyewitnesses at the site said the building caught fire at around 10:45 p.m. local time (1945 GMT) and that hundreds of people were in attendance at the time of the incident.
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