(PatriotWise.com)- On Monday, a fire broke out in a COVID-19 hospital ward in Iraq, tragically killing more than 90 people.
Iraq’s health officials also revealed how a further 100 people were injured in the blaze which suddenly took hold of the al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah. According to the Associated Press, relatives of patients inside the facility could be seen searching through the debris to look for evidence of their loved ones who became trapped inside the building when the fire occurred.
The brand new hospital ward was only opened at the hospital three months ago. There were 70 beds in the facility, most or all of those beds were occupied.
You can see the tragic aftermath of the fire in the footage below.
The Al Hussain coronavirus hospital in Iraq’s Nassiriya is gutted by a large fire that killed 92 people pic.twitter.com/pyrGKaeVYA
— TRT World (@trtworld) July 13, 2021
The Associated Press learned from Haidar al-Askari, who was at the scene, that the “whole state system” had collapsed and that the people inside the hospital had “paid the price.”
The fire is believed to have occurred because of a short-circuit in the building, but no specifics have been revealed yet. It appears as though those in the crowd searching through the debris were blaming poor workmanship from those who built the facility in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, held an emergency meeting in response to the news and ordered the arrest of health officials at the al-Hussein hospital and the health directors of the Dhi Qar Province. So perhaps he knows something everyone else does not…
An investigation into the origins of the fire has also reportedly been ordered.
A fire at a hospital in Iraq killed 60+ people in a #COVID19 ward. Officials say it was caused by an exploding oxygen tank, the second such fire in months.
Families protested state mismanagement and lack of safety measures: "Sick people burned to death. It's a disaster." pic.twitter.com/vnc0gdHXlQ
— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 13, 2021
AJ+, a news wing of Al Jazeera, reported a conflicting story that officials believe the fire was actually caused by an exploding oxygen tank, which would be the second incident in just a matter of months.
