Death toll rises to 92 in fire that gutted Iraq COVID ward

Over 100 people were injured after the massive fire broke out in a Covid-19 isolation ward.

The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital in the southern Iraqi city late Monday and was brought under control hours later by local civil defence forces.

An official stated, “The victims died of burns and the search is continuing”.

An investigation showed the fire began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank that then exploded, police and civil defence authorities said.

A Nasiriya court said it had ordered the arrest of 13 local officials in connection with the fire.

The ward had space for 70 beds and opened just three months ago, said two medical officials.

The deadly hospital blaze is the second such fire in Iraq in three months.

The fire also prompted furious calls on social media for the resignation of top officials.

Earlier on Monday, a minor fire broke out at the health ministry’s headquarters in Baghdad, but it was quickly contained with no fatalities recorded.

Since the coronavirus vaccine rollout began in March, Iraq have fully inoculated around one percent of the country’s roughly 40 million people.