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Rescuers comb Iraqi hospital as dozens killed in COVID ward fire

Fire likely caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a hospital’s COVID ward in Nasiriya kills at least 52 people.

People inspect the damage after a fire broke out in the COVID isolation ward at Al-Hussain hospital in Nasiriya, southern Iraq. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]
Published On 13 Jul 202113 Jul 2021
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At least 64 people have been killed in a fire likely caused by an oxygen tank explosion in the COVID ward at a hospital in Iraq’s southern city of Nasiriya.

As rescuers combed the smoke-charred building in search of more bodies, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held urgent meetings with senior ministers and ordered the suspension and arrest of health and civil defence managers in Nasiriya, his office said in a statement.

The manager of the hospital was also suspended and ordered to be arrested, the statement added.

Health sources said the death toll from Monday’s fire could rise as many patients were still missing. Two health workers were among the dead, they said.

Health officials at Nasiriya said search operations at the al-Hussain coronavirus hospital were continuing after the fire was brought under control, but thick smoke was making it difficult to enter some of the burned wards.

Initial police reports suggested that an oxygen tank explosion inside the hospital’s COVID-19 wards was the likely cause of the fire.

In April, a fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad killed at least 82 people and injured 110 others.

Already decimated by war and sanctions, Iraq’s healthcare system has struggled to cope with the coronavirus crisis, which has killed 17,592 people and infected more than 1.4 million.

The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital in Nasiriya late on Monday and was brought under control by local civil defence forces. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]
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Men carry stretchers with body bags containing the remains of victims. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]
The new COVID ward, opened just three months ago, contained 70 beds. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]
It was the second time a large fire has killed coronavirus patients in an Iraqi hospital this year. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]
People inspect the damage after the fire broke out at Al-Hussain coronavirus hospital in Nasiriya. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]
Police officers sit near a row of body bags containing the remains of victims at Al-Hussain hospital. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]
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A man stands next to a hospital bed after the fire. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]


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