In Pictures

Gallery|Coronavirus pandemic

Fire tears through Baghdad COVID hospital

Blaze broke out in a hospital for coronavirus patients after an oxygen cylinder exploded.

The fire at the Ibn Khatib hospital spread quickly, forcing people trapped inside to jump out of windows. [Murtadha al-Sudani/Anadolu]
Published On 25 Apr 2021

Dozens of people have been killed and injured in a fire at a hospital in southeastern Baghdad that was treating coronavirus victims.

The blaze at the Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in the Diyala Bridge area of the Iraqi capital occurred after an oxygen tank exploded, medical sources said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered an investigation into the deadly fire and vowed to hold anyone who was negligent accountable.

Videos on social media showed firefighters trying to extinguish flames at the hospital as patients and their relatives tried to flee the building. Witnesses said people jumped out of windows to escape the blaze.

The incident sparked outrage on social media, with Iraqis angry at the government and calling for the firing of the health minister.

Iraq’s hospitals have been worn down by decades of conflict and poor investment with shortages in medicines and hospital beds.

The head of Iraq's civil defence unit said the fire broke out on the floor designated for the pulmonary intensive care unit. [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered an investigation into the incident. [Murtadha al-Sudani/Anadolu]
People and medical staff walk in Ibn al-Khatib Hospital after the fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion was been put out. [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]
A COVID-19 patient is prepared for evacuation in an ambulance outside the Ibn al-Khatib Hospital. [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]
People gather outside Ibn al-Khatib Hospital after the deadly blaze. [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]
There were at least 120 patients in the hospital at the time of the fire, a doctor said. [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]
Patients not injured in the incident were transferred out of Ibn al-Khatib Hospital. [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]
Iraq is in the middle of a severe COVID-19 wave with rates averaging more than 8,000 new cases daily - the highest since the pandemic broke out last year. [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]