Dozens of people died in Iraq in April when an oxygen cylinder apparently exploded in a hospital. Now there is a similar catastrophe. And again it hits corona patients.
Nassiriya – A few months after a devastating fire in an Iraqi hospital, dozens of people were again killed in a similar tragedy in the country.
At least 41 people died in Nassirija in southern Iraq, as reported by state television. Local health authority spokesman Ammar Baschar confirmed the figure. Eyewitnesses spoke of 48 fatalities. Emergency services looked for more bodies that night. Imam al-Hussein Teaching Hospital lay in charred rubble after the fire was extinguished.
According to initial findings, the fire broke out in a part of the clinic that was built to isolate Covid patients during the corona pandemic. Among other things, there was room for up to 100 beds on 600 square meters. Baschar said there were 63 people suffering from Covid-19 in the isolation ward. Witnesses reported to the German Press Agency that the fire broke out when an oxygen cylinder exploded. There was initially no official confirmation of this.
Similar tragedy in April
As recently as April, 82 people were killed after a fire broke out in a clinic in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. According to reports, an oxygen cylinder exploded in a ward for corona patients.
Black smoke rose over the building in Nassiriya. Dozens tried to help people in the hospital, according to eyewitnesses. Civil protection teams from the surrounding provinces were called to help in Nassirija and could have put out the fire, said the head of the civil protection department, Kadhem Bohan.
Investigations into the cause of the fire
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi held an emergency meeting with several ministers and security officials to investigate the causes of the fire. Some of the ministers and officials were expected in Nassiriya. The provincial health department, hospital and civil defense chiefs have been suspended from their duties. Al-Kasimi also directed provinces in the region to send medical aid to Dhi Kar.
So far, around 1.4 million infections with the coronavirus have been reported in Iraq. The vaccinations are making slow progress there. According to statistics website Our World in Data, less than two percent of the population received at least one dose of vaccine. dpa
