As authorities announced an investigation into the blaze, a fire raced through a full wedding hall in northern Iraq late Tuesday, killing more than 113 people in a Christian village that had survived Islamic State rule.
Bereaved relatives gathered outside a morgue in the nearby city of Mosul, weeping and shaking in agony, while firefighters investigated the burned skeleton of the building in Qaraqosh, also known as Hamdaniya, yesterday morning.
According to official media, the Interior Ministry has issued four arrest warrants for the owners of the wedding facility, and President Abdul Latif Rashid has ordered an investigation.
“It wasn’t a wedding. This was hell,” Mariam Khedr recalled, sobbing and striking herself as she awaited the bodies of her daughter Rana Yakoub, 27, and three small grandchildren, the youngest of whom was just eight months old.
Hundreds of people were at the wedding reception, which followed an earlier church service, according to survivors, and the fire started about an hour into the event when flares burned a ceiling decoration while the bride and groom danced.
Province of Nineveh According to Deputy Governor Hassan al-Allaf, 113 persons have been confirmed killed. According to the president of the province’s Red Crescent branch, the death toll “exceeds hundreds injured and dozens killed.”
According to official media, the fire ripped through a big events hall after flares were fired during the celebration, igniting a fire in the ceiling, according to Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari.
A video of the occurrence, shared on social media but not yet verified by Reuters, appeared to show fireworks catching a dazzling ceiling ornament, which exploded into flames, while screams of excitement quickly turned to terror.
Another video, which had not yet been authenticated as of press time, showed a couple dancing in wedding attire while burning stuff began to fall to the floor.
We noticed the flames pulsing out of the hall. “Those who got out got stuck, and those who didn’t get stuck,” said Imad Yohana, a 34-year-old who survived the inferno.
A Reuters correspondent at the scene captured video of firefighters clambering over the charred debris of the structure, beaming lights over the smoking ruins.
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