Iraqi Leader Orders Investigation Of Baghdad Hospital Fire That Killed More Than 80
By Jeannette Muhammad
April 25, 2021
A massive fire at a Baghdad hospital dedicated to COVID-19 patients has left at least 82 people dead and dozens injured. Amid calls for action by international organizations, Iraq’s prime minister ordered an investigation.
Early reports say the blaze Saturday at Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in the Iraqi capital was set off by an exploding oxygen cylinder. The flames raged through the facility where patients were being treated for the coronavirus.
Iraq Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Khaled Al-Muhanna said 110 people were injured in the explosion.
Ali Najafi/AFP via Getty Images
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Iraqis in the holy shrine city of Najaf on Sunday mourn relatives killed during a massive fire at a Baghdad hospital dedicated to COVID-19 patients. Ali Najafi/AFP via Getty Images
A massive fire at a Baghdad hospital dedicated to COVID-19 patients has left at least 82 people dead and dozens injured. Amid calls for action by international organizations, Iraq s prime minister ordered an investigation.
Early reports say the blaze Saturday at Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in the Iraqi capital was set off by an exploding oxygen cylinder. The flames raged through the facility where patients were being treated for the coronavirus.
At least 82 killed in massive Baghdad hospital fire
At least 82 people died in a huge hospital fire Saturday night in Iraq’s capital city of Baghdad, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said Sunday.
Another 110 people were injured in the blaze at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital, according to ministry spokesman Major General Khaled Al-Muhanna.
The fire is believed to have started after oxygen tanks exploded, according to two health officials at the hospital.
Murtadha Riyadh’s grandmother and aunt were both on the hospital’s second floor ICU ward when the fire erupted.
He was nearby picking up medicine for his grandmother when he suddenly heard explosions, he told CNN. “I ran back to the hospital. I called them to check on them. They told me, ‘Don’t come up, we are being evacuated,’ but they could not make it.”