Iraq

Death toll in Iraq COVID-19 hospital fire rises to 66 – health officials

Reuters

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Death toll in Iraq COVID-19 hospital fire rises to 66 – health officials

AFTER THE FIRE. People inspect the damage at al-Hussain coronavirus hospital where a fire broke out, in Nassiriya, Iraq, July 13, 2021.

Khalid al-Mousily/Reuters

The hospital fire in the city of Nassiriya is thought to have been triggered by an exploding oxygen tank

The death toll in a fire at a coronavirus hospital in a southern Iraq city has risen to 66, health officials said on Tuesday, July 13, as an angry crowd gathered near the city’s morgue waiting to receive relatives’ bodies.

More than 100 others were injured in Monday night’s fire in the city of Nassiriya, which was thought to have been triggered an exploding oxygen tank, officials said.

Two health officials said the death toll included the remains of 21 charred bodies that were still unidentified.

People gathered at the city morgue blamed local authorities for negligence and lack of safety measures at the hospital.

“No quick response to the fire, not enough firefighters. Sick people burned to death. It’s a disaster,” said Mohammed Fadhil, who was waiting there to receive his bother’s body. – Rappler.com

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