Another 22 injured – Oxygen cylinders explode possible cause of tragedy
At least 52 people have been killed in a fire that broke out yesterday in the Covid-19 unit of Al-Hussein Hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, according to a new interim report from authorities.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Qadimi called an emergency meeting of security ministers and officials overnight to “examine the causes and consequences of the fire, ” his cabinet said.
The province of Di Kar, which belongs to Nasiriyah, has been declared a state of emergency, local authorities said, seeking help from doctors who are on leave or have retired.
The blaze, which has not yet been made clear, broke out in the Covid-19 unit of Al Hussein Hospital in Nasiriyah, which had 70 beds, local government spokesman Haidar al-Hamili told AFP.
The victims have died from burns and the search is ongoing ,” al-Hamili said, adding that many patients may still be trapped. He also said 22 people were injured, two of them in critical condition.
According to a source in the local health authority, the fire was caused by an explosion of oxygen supply cylinders. This version is the same as the cause of the fire that occurred last April in a Covid-19 clinic in a Baghdad hospital, which resulted in more than 80 people losing their lives.
The fire in the Covid-19 unit of Al Hussein Hospital was brought under control, a hospital source told a AFP correspondent. Hundreds of people gathered at the scene to help firefighters and rescuers.
According to a medical source, 20 patients were evacuated from the burning building.
Videos posted on social networking sites show the building on fire and dense black smoke rising from above. The Iraqi Interior Ministry said in a Facebook post that the fire was started by temporary structures that had been set up near the unit. Most hospitals in Iraq are abandoned and the health system has been in ruins for years , plagued by financial hardship and corruption. On Monday, a fire broke out in the building housing the Baghdad Ministry of Health and was quickly brought under control, with no casualties. Iraq has been listed since the beginning of the pandemic
over 1.4 million new coronavirus infections more than 17,000 deaths.
