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Fire at newly opened Iraqi shopping centre kills 61 people More than 60 die in fire at newly opened Iraq shopping mall
(about 7 hours later)
Survivor says blaze at mall in eastern city of Kut started after air conditioner unit exploded Survivor says the blaze, which killed at least 61 people in the eastern city of Kut, started after an air conditioner unit exploded
A fire has torn through a shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut, killing at least 60 people, as desperate people searched for missing relatives. A fire has torn through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut, killing at least 61 people, as desperate families searched for missing relatives.
Officials have launched an investigation into the blaze, the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected. Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person said his five relatives died in a lift.
At least two people said they had lost five relatives who had gone to the newly opened Hyper Mall for shopping and dinner. The blaze – the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected – broke out late on Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the five-storey Corniche Hypermarket mall.
“The tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified,” the interior ministry said in a statement. The cause was not immediately known, but one survivor said an air conditioning unit had exploded.
The Wasit province governor, Mohammed al-Miyahi, told the state INA news agency that the victims included men, women and children. A medical source in Kut told AFP there were “many unidentified bodies”. Several people said they lost family members – and in some cases whole families – who had gone to shop and dine at the mall days after it opened in Kut, 100 miles south-east of Baghdad.
Rescuers were still searching for the missing, an AFP correspondent reported from the scene. Footage shared on social media showed people, including children, standing on the roof, calling for help. Charred bodies were taken to the province’s forensic department.
Civil defence teams rescued more than 45 people who were trapped inside the five-storey building, which includes a restaurant and a supermarket, the interior ministry said. Ali Kadhim, 51, said he had been shuttling between the mall and the main hospital where the victims were taken, looking for his cousin, who is missing along with his wife and three children. Back at the mall, he waited anxiously as rescuers searched for victims in the wreckage with an ambulance on standby. “We don’t know what happened to them,” he said.
The blaze broke out late on Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the building. The interior ministry said in a statement: “The tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified.”
The cause was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded. The official INA news agency later quoted a medical source who put the toll at 63 dead and 40 injured.
Ambulances were still ferrying casualties to hospitals at 4am, with wards in Kut – around 160km (100 miles) south-east of Baghdad – overwhelmed. The provincial governor of Wasit, Mohammed al-Miyahi, told INA the victims included men, women and children. A medical source in Kut said there were “many unidentified bodies”.
An AFP correspondent, who reported seeing charred bodies at the province’s forensic department, said the mall had only opened five days earlier. Civil defence teams rescued more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, which includes a restaurant and a supermarket, the interior ministry said.
Though the fire was eventually contained, firefighters continued searching for missing victims. The ward of the main hospital was overwhelmed, while elsewhere, distraught relatives waited at the forensic department for news, some collapsing in grief. One man fell apart, pounding his chest and screaming.
Videos posted on social media showed distraught relatives waiting at the hospital for news, some collapsing in grief. One man sat on the ground, pounding his chest and crying out: “Oh my father, oh my heart.” Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he lost five family members in the fire. “A disaster has befallen us,” he said. “We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted – and we couldn’t escape.”
Dozens of people gathered outside the hospital checking ambulances as they arrived, some of them overcome with emotion. Moataz Karim, 45, rushed to the mall at midnight, to be met with the news that three of his relatives were missing. Hours later, he identified the charred bodies of two relatives, one of whom had begun working at the shopping centre three days ago. “There is no fire extinguishing system,” he said angrily, as he waited for further news outside the forensic department.
One of them, Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he had lost five family members in the fire. “A disaster has befallen us,” he told AFP. “We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted – and we couldn’t escape.” Safety standards in Iraq’s construction sector are often disregarded and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, often experiences fatal fires and accidents. Fires increase during the blistering summer, as temperatures approach 50C.
Miyahi declared three days of mourning and said local authorities would file a lawsuit against the mall’s owner and the building contractor. “The tragedy is a major shock … and requires a serious review of all safety measures,” he said.
The Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, ordered a “thorough probe” into the fire to identify “shortcomings” and prevent further incidents. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Shia Islam’s highest authority in Iraq, offered condolences to the victims’ families.
Safety standards in Iraq’s construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, is often the scene of fatal fires and accidents. Fires increase during the blistering summer as temperatures approach 50C.
In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked rush for the exits. In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people.In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked rush for the exits. In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people.
Miyahi said local authorities would file a lawsuit against the mall’s owner and the building contractor. “The tragedy is a major shock … and requires a serious review of all safety measures,” he said.
The government declared three days of mourning. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the prime minister, ordered a thorough investigation into the fire to identify shortcomings and prevent further incidents.