Latest news with #MohammadShiaalSudani
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Sixty-one dead and others missing after shopping centre fire in eastern Iraq city of Kut
Sixty-one people have died in a fire at a shopping centre in the eastern Iraq city of Kut. It broke out late on Wednesday at the five-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall, which only opened a week ago. More than 45 people were rescued but others are still missing, according to the interior ministry and the Iraqi News Agency. The ministry said most victims died from smoke inhalation and that 14 burned bodies were still unidentified. Provincial governor Mohammed al Mayyeh declared three days of mourning and said legal cases had been opened against the owners of the centre. "We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident," he said. The result of a preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al Sudani has ordered the interior minister to go to Kut to investigate and take steps to prevent a similar incident. Read more from Sky News: has seen several previous cases of poor building standards contributing to deadly fires. Dozens were killed in a hospital fire in Nasiriyah in 2021 after highly combustible and illegal cladding was used. More than 100 also died at a wedding in Hamdaniya in 2023 after ceiling panels were set alight by a pyrotechnics machine.
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Dozens dead after fire at shopping centre in Iraq
A fire at a newly opened shopping centre in eastern Iraq has killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said. Iraq's Ministry of Interior said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them from suffocation, in the fire that broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut in the province of Wasit. Advertisement Among the dead were 14 bodies that remain unidentified, it said. Civil defence teams were able to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, the statement said. Iraqi security forces at the scene of the fire in Kut (Hadi Mizban/AP) The shopping centre, which had opened only a week earlier, was in a five-storey building that also contained a restaurant and supermarket. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that people remained missing. Photographs and videos on local media showed the building fully engulfed in flames. Advertisement Provincial governor Mohammed al-Mayyeh declared three days of mourning. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation but that legal cases were filed against the building owner and shopping centre owner. He did not specify what the charges were. 'We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident,' he said. The results of the preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours, he added. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he had directed the interior minister to go to the site of the fire to investigate. Advertisement
CBC
3 days ago
- CBC
At least 60 people killed after fire breaks out in eastern Iraq shopping mall
A fire at a newly opened mall in eastern Iraq's Wasit province killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. Iraq's interior ministry said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them from suffocation, in the fire that broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut. Among the dead were 14 charred bodies that remain unidentified, it said. Civil defence teams were able to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, the statement said. The mall, which had opened only a week earlier, was in a five-storey building that also contained a restaurant and supermarket. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that people remained missing. Photographs and videos on local media showed the building fully engulfed in flames. Provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Mayyeh in a statement declared three days of mourning. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation but that legal cases were filed against the building owner and mall owner. He did not specify what the charges were. "We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident," al-Mayyeh said. The results of the preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours, he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he had directed the interior minister to go to the site of the fire to investigate and take measures to prevent a recurrence. Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. In July 2021, a blaze at a hospital in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah that killed between 60 to 92 people was determined to have been fuelled by highly flammable, low-cost type of "sandwich panel" cladding that is illegal in Iraq. In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
A fire at a mall in eastern Iraq kills more than 60 people
BAGHDAD — A fire at a newly opened mall in eastern Iraq's Wasit province killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. Iraq's Ministry of Interior said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them from suffocation, in the fire that broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut. Among the dead were 14 charred bodies that remain unidentified, it said. Civil defense teams were able to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, the statement said. The mall, which had opened only a week earlier, was in a five-story building that also contained a restaurant and supermarket. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that people remained missing. Photographs and videos on local media showed the building fully engulfed in flames. Provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Mayyeh in a statement declared three days of mourning. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation but that legal cases were filed against the building owner and mall owner. He did not specify what the charges were. 'We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident,' al-Mayyeh said. The results of the preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours, he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he had directed the interior minister to go to the site of the fire to investigate and take measures to prevent a recurrence. Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. In July 2021, a blaze at a hospital in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah that killed between 60 to 92 people was determined to have been fueled by highly flammable, low-cost type of 'sandwich panel' cladding that is illegal in Iraq. In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames. Qassim Abdul-zahra, The Associated Press
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
A fire at a mall in eastern Iraq kills more than 60 people
A fire at a newly opened mall in eastern Iraq's Wasit province killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. Iraq's Ministry of Interior said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them from suffocation, in the fire that broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut. Among the dead were 14 charred bodies that remain unidentified, it said. Civil defense teams were able to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, the statement said. The mall, which had opened only a week earlier, was in a five-story building that also contained a restaurant and supermarket. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that people remained missing. Photographs and videos on local media showed the building fully engulfed in flames. Provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Mayyeh in a statement declared three days of mourning. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation but that legal cases were filed against the building owner and mall owner. He did not specify what the charges were. 'We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident,' al-Mayyeh said. The results of the preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours, he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he had directed the interior minister to go to the site of the fire to investigate and take measures to prevent a recurrence. Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. In July 2021, a blaze at a hospital in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah that killed between 60 to 92 people was determined to have been fueled by highly flammable, low-cost type of 'sandwich panel' cladding that is illegal in Iraq. In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.
