Reuters Reuters
27 April, 2021, 8:09 pm
A member of Iraqi security forces walks at Ibn Khatib hospital after a fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, April 25, 2021. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Fire extinguishers didn’t work. Outdated medical equipment was being used. The fire alarm system in the hospital was broken.
These are the accusations being levelled by witnesses, medical staff, emergency response teams and those who lost loved ones in a fire at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad on Saturday that killed more than 80 people.
Iraq’s latest tragedy, the result of an exploding oxygen tank, is a symptom of the mismanagement that has dogged its healthcare system for years, even at times of relative peace.
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