Key Takeaways
- The fire at the Al-Hamdaniya wedding hall killed 114 and injured over 200 people.
- Fireworks likely ignited the blaze, highlighting unsafe celebration practices in venues with flammable materials.
- Iraqi officials, including Governor Najm al‑Jubouri and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al‑Sudani, coordinated emergency response and medical aid across neighboring provinces.
Baghdad: Up to 114 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a huge wedding hall fire in the town of al-Hamdaniya in Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh, Governor of Nineveh Najm al-Jubouri told reporters on Wednesday.
The fire broke out on Tuesday night in the al-Haytham Wedding Hall in the town of al-Hamdaniya, 35 km southeast of the provincial capital Mosul, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted the Iraqi Civil Defense as saying earlier.
It said that initial reports indicated that fireworks were used during the celebration, which may have caused the fire.
The building was covered with highly flammable materials, which accelerated the fire.
The blaze caused part of the structure to collapse, the INA reported.
An investigation has been launched into the incident.
The Health Ministry spokesman Sayf al-Badr said that the situation is under control and that the health ministry is following the incident closely.
The INA reported that the health minister issued instructions to the health departments in the neighboring provinces of Kirkuk and Salahudin to send ambulances to help evacuate the victims.
A statement by his media office said that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani made a phone call to the Nineveh governor to learn about the situation and ordered the interior and health ministers to support the affected people.
“We are following the tragic developments in the town of al-Hamdaniya following the painful accident that caused a number of victims and injuries,” Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi said in a tweet.
