The number of people who were killed in a fire that engulfed the COVID-19 isolation ward of a hospital in southern Iraq has risen to 41, the Iraqi Health Ministry said early Tuesday.
Five more people lost their lives in the fire that broke out at Al-Hussein Hospital in Nasiriya city in Dhi Qar governorate, the ministry said in a statement.
VIDEO: Protesters gather at an Iraqi hospital where at least 52 people have died and several others wounded in a massive fire that engulfed a coronavirus isolation ward pic.twitter.com/OJVbXD1fPz
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 13, 2021
The fire was caused by the misuse of oxygen cylinders, it added.
Local civil defense forces announced that firefighters had brought the blaze under control.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held an emergency meeting with some ministers and security officials to discuss the fire, according to a statement from the press office of the prime minister.
Following the meeting, Dhi Qar Governor Ahmed al-Khafaji issued a statement saying it was decided to form a high-level committee to investigate the exact cause of the fire and to present a final report to the public within 48 hours.
A state of mourning has been declared in Dhi Qar governorate for those who lost their lives in the fire and official working hours were suspended for three days from Tuesday.
At least 41 people have been killed in a hospital fire in the southeastern Iraqi city of Nasiriya, Dr. Ammar al-Zamili, the spokesperson for the local health department, told CNN https://t.co/OiBBHHNIB7
— CNN International (@cnni) July 12, 2021
A previous statement said that five others were injured in the fire.
Earlier Monday, a fire broke out on the fourth floor of the Ministry of Health in central Baghdad.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
