Around 113 have been killed and more than 150 are wounded after fire engulfed a marriage party on late night of Tuesday. The tragdic incident has taken place in the Iraq’s northern province Ninevah. Prime Minister of Iraq,Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, ordered an investigation into the incident.
Hassan al-Allaq, the deputy governor of the Ninevah, while addressing the issue, said “Till now the death of 113 people has been confirmed.”
Najim al-Jubouri, the provincial governor of the Ninevah, expressed his apprehension that a number of deaths can rise. As per him, the evacuation operation is in full swing to prevent more casualties, and all efforts are being made to provide timely relief .
It is to be specially mentioned that the marriage party
was being organised in a big event hall . At the same time, it is worth to note that in Iraqi marriage functions, heavy fireworks are used.The initial reports also indicated that fireworks might be the reason behind this incident that cost many precious human lives .
It is to be added that most of the time, heavy fireworks cause huge loss of life and property .
As per information received so far , that pre-fabricated panels used in event halls are highly flammable . In fact use of these panels is a bizarre violation of safety standards .
“Some parts of ceiling fall due to fire which shows the use of low-cost construction material in event hall,”, said civil defence authorities in its statement .
The danger of fire doubled due to “release of toxic gasses from fireworks that leads to combustion of prefabricated panels “
At the same time majority of injured suffered due to burns and asphyxiation , according to health ministry sources . Guests were also seen jumping from the tables and attempting to flee safely .
A video apparently shot by a guest showed that fireworks were shooting up from the floor and setting a chandelier ablaze .
A wedding attendee who suffered a burn to her hand said “bride and groom were slow dancing when fireworks started to shoot up and very soon whole hall went up in flames .
However, medical trucks have been dispatched from Bagdad with relief material