Massive fire breaks out during wedding ceremony in Iraq, 100 dead, 150 injured

At least 100 people have been killed and 150 injured in a fire at a wedding hall in northern Iraq. Officials said that the fire broke out in Hamdania area of ​​Nineveh province of Iraq.

A massive fire incident has come to light during a wedding ceremony in Iraq's Nineveh province. At least 100 people have been killed and 150 injured in a fire at a wedding hall in northern Iraq, officials said Wednesday. He told that this fire broke out in Hamdania area of ​​Nineveh province of Iraq. It is just outside the northern city of Mosul, about 335 kilometers (205 mi) northwest of the capital Baghdad.

There is no immediate information about the cause of the fire. Television footage showed burnt debris inside the wedding hall. Health officials gave the number of casualties through the state-run Iraqi news agency.

The death toll may increase

Officials said the death toll could rise further. Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr provided information on the number of casualties through the state-run Iraqi news agency. Al-Badr said relief would be provided to those affected by the unfortunate accident. All efforts are being made to do so. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the fire and asked the country's interior and health authorities to provide relief, his office said in an online statement.

The cause of the fire is not known

Nineveh provincial governor Najim al-Jubouri said some of the injured had been referred to regional hospitals. He cautioned that there is no final tally of casualties from the fire yet, suggesting the death toll could still rise. There was no immediate official statement on the cause of the fire, but initial reports from Kurdish television news channel Rudaw suggested the fire may have been caused by fireworks at the venue.

Questions raised on hall decoration

Civil defense officials were quoted by the Iraqi News Agency as saying that the exterior of the wedding hall was decorated with highly flammable covering, which was illegal in the country. Civil Defense said the fire resulted from the use of highly flammable, low-cost construction materials, causing parts of the hall to collapse. It was not immediately clear why officials in Iraq allowed the cladding to be used on the hall, although corruption and mismanagement remain endemic two decades after the US-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein.