Iraq wedding fire updates: Arrests made as more than 100 killed in blaze
Governor of Nineveh province says no confirmed casualty figure, implying the toll may rise.
This blog is now closed. Thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Iraq wedding fire on Wednesday, September 27.
This blog is now closed. Thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Iraq wedding fire on Wednesday, September 27.
- More than 100 people are dead and some 150 injured after a fire ripped through a wedding celebration in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province.
- Authorities say fireworks used during the celebration may have been the cause of the fire; several people have been arrested.
- The health ministry says the critically injured are being taken to hospitals that specialise in burns; many are in “unstable condition”.
- Reports indicate that the bride and groom have survived, although they have suffered burns.
Mourners take to the streets to bid fire victims farewell
Mourners have taken to the streets of northern Iraq’s Nineveh province to mourn the death of 100 people killed in the devastating fire that erupted during a wedding on Tuesday night.
US ambassador to Iraq expresses ‘solidarity’
The United States ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, has expressed Washington DC’s “solidarity” with the Iraqi people “in their sorrow” following the fire tragedy at al-Hamdaniyah.
“Today, we stand side-by-side with all Iraqis in their grief for the victims and those injured at the wedding in the Hamdaniyah tragedy,” Romanowski wrote in English and Arabic in a social media post on Wednesday.
Kuwait’s emir sends message of condolences to Iraqi leaders
Kuwaiti Emir Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has sent two cables of condolences to Iraq’s president and prime minister following the fire tragedy in Nineveh.
According to the state-owned Kuwaiti TV, the emir mourned with the families of the victims of the fire that killed at least 100 people and left more than 150 others injured.
Video appears to show indoor fireworks that led to deadly tragedy at wedding reception
Video appears to show indoor fireworks starting a fire at a packed wedding in Iraq that has killed more than a hundred people â€µïž pic.twitter.com/wHZhqaIGeg
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 27, 2023
Injured fire victims being treated in hospitals across Iraq
Not a wedding but ‘hell’: Relatives mourn family members
Relatives gathered outside a morgue in the nearby city of Mosul, wailing in distress.
“This was not a wedding. This was hell,” said Mariam Khedr, crying and hitting herself as she waited for officials to return the bodies of her daughter Rana Yakoub, 27, and three young grandchildren, the youngest aged just eight months.
Another person shared their experience of escaping.
“We saw the fire pulsating, coming out of the hall. Those who managed got out and those who didn’t got stuck,” said Imad Yohana, a 34-year-old who escaped the inferno.
Another woman also lost several members of her family.
“I lost my daughter, her husband and their three-year-old. They were all burned. My heart is burning,” a woman said outside the morgue, where bodies lay outside in bags.
A man named Youssef stood nearby with burns covering his hands and face. He had grabbed his three-year-old grandson and managed to get out.
But his wife, Bashra Mansour, in her 50s, did not make it, dying in the chaos.
Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim, sends condolences to Iraqi nation
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar’s emir, has sent his condolences to the leaders of Iraq and its people after the deadly fire in Nineveh that killed at least 100 people.
In a message posted by his office, the emir also wrote that he wishes a “speedy recovery” to those who were injured in the tragedy.
Russia’s Putin offers condolences to Iraqi leadership
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences to his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Latif Rashid, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for the victims of the fire in Nineveh.
According to the state-owned Russia Television, Putin wrote his condolences on the Kremlin website.
“It is particularly sad that this tragedy occurred during a wedding,” RT quoted him as saying.
Putin also sent his wishes “for a speedy recovery to all those injured”.
‘Our thoughts are with the families of the victims’: Belgium
Belgium has extended its “heartfelt condolences” to the government of Iraq and its people “for the many lives lost in the tragic fire” in Nineveh.
“Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. Sincere wishes for the swift recovery of those injured,” Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on social media.
Lithuania’s foreign minister sends ‘sincere condolences’ to Iraq
FM @GLandsbergis: Most sincere condolences to the people of Iraq as they mourn the victims of the deadly fire at the wedding celebration in Nineveh province. Wishing quick recovery to those injured during this devastating accident.@Fuad_Husseein @IraqiPMO
— Lithuania MFA | #StandWithUkraine (@LithuaniaMFA) September 27, 2023
Bride and groom injured but alive: Al Jazeera correspondent
There are conflicting reports on the condition of the bride and groom.
According to Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed, the couple are alive but have suffered burns.
Al Jazeera is closely following this development as more information comes in.
‘Difficult times’: Egypt expresses ‘solidarity’ with Iraq
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry has expressed its “solidarity” with Iraq, calling the aftermath of Tuesday’s deadly fire “difficult times”.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, was quoted by Ahram Online as saying that Cairo is extending “its condolences to the Iraqi government and people, as well as to the families of the victims, wishing the injured a speedy recovery”.
Tehran offers condolences to Baghdad and families of victims
The Spokesperson for the Iranian FM has offered condolences to the friendly & brotherly #Iraqi government & nation, especially to the families of the victims who were killed or injured in a fire accident in al-Hamdaniya District of Nineveh Province. pic.twitter.com/fEjRmcY12Z
— Iran Foreign Ministry 🇮🇷 (@IRIMFA_EN) September 27, 2023
Saudi Arabia sends condolence message to Iraq
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has extended Riyadh’s “condolences and deep sympathy” to Iraq following Tuesday’s deadly fire in Nineveh.
In a statement published on the Saudi Press Agency website on Wednesday, the kingdom also sent its message to the families of the victims “over the tragic fire incident”.
“The ministry conveyed the Kingdom’s wish for a speedy recovery for the injured,” it added.
Nineveh police chief calls for blood donations for fire victims
The police chief of Nineveh, Major-General Falah al-Jarba, has called on all officers under his command to donate blood to those injured in the deadly fire in the province’s al-Hamdaniyah district, the Mosul MPN news site reported.
In a separate development, Shafaq News has reported that more than 40 people injured in the incident were transferred to a hospital in Erbil for better medical care.
Fire victims to be buried on Wednesday
The Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul has announced burial ceremonies for the victims of the al-Hamdaniyah fire, which killed more than 100 people on Tuesday night.
According to the Mosul-based news channel Mosul MPN, the funeral rites will be held on Wednesday afternoon at the Resurrection Cemetery in Mosul, the capital of Nineveh governorate.
Iraq’s highest Shia authority expresses sorrow
“We express deep sorrow and regret over the horrific fire incident that occurred in the Hamdaniyah district,” says Ali al-Sistani, leader of Iraq’s Shia Muslims and one of the most senior Shia scholars in the world.
“The supreme Marjaa offers condolences to the bereaved families and expresses solidarity with them and asks God Almighty to bind their hearts with patience, includ[ing] the victims, with His vast mercy and grant the injured a speedy recovery,” he added.
‘Devastating loss’: EU offers condolences after ‘tragic fire’
The European Union delegation to Iraq has offered its “deepest condolences” in the wake of the “tragic fire incident”.
“Our thoughts are with the families affected by this devastating loss. We stand in solidarity with Iraq and wish a speedy recovery to all the injured,” the EU said in a statement.
Our deepest condolences go out to the people of Hmdaniyah in the wake of the tragic fire incident. Our thoughts are with the families affected by this devastating loss. We stand in solidarity with Iraq and wish a speedy recovery to all the injured. pic.twitter.com/Yk4Q3sYpYo
— EU in Iraq 🇪🇺🇮🇶 (@EUinIraq) September 27, 2023
Iraqi PM declares three days of national mourning
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has declared three days of national mourning after the deadly fire in Nineveh.
A statement by the prime minister’s media office sent to the Iraqi News Agency said: “Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani directed the declaration of a national mourning throughout Iraq for three days as a condolence for the victims who died in the al-Hamdaniyah fire accident.”
Turkey sends condolences to Iraq
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has offered condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the “tragic incident”.
“We also wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” it said in a statement.
Jordan sends condolences to Iraq
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has sent it condolences to the Iraqi government after the deadly fire in Nineveh.
In a statement, the ministry “expressed its deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the government and people of the brotherly Republic of Iraq”.
The ministry “affirmed the Kingdom’s solidarity with the brotherly Republic of Iraq in this painful tragedy, expressing its condolences to the families of the victims, and wishing the injured a speedy recovery”.
Bride and groom survive but are in poor psychological condition, relative says
Relatives of the bride and the groom confirm to Iraqi Channel 1 that the couple is fine and survived the fire but they are in a difficult state mentally.
“We miraculously left the place. The groom and the bride were among the people who survived the accident. I was just with them, and their psychological condition was very difficult. I took some wounded to the hospital. What I saw in the hospital is difficult to describe. Many of the victims were burned and dead,” a relative told the channel.
The couple was about to do a slow dance, and something was lit up for it, sparking the massive blaze, an injured woman told the broadcaster Rudaw from a hospital gurney.
UN sends condolences to families of victims
Shocked and pained by the horrible loss of life and injuries in the fire in Ninewa’s Hamdaniya. An immense tragedy. Our sincere condolences to the families who lost loved ones. We wish the injured a speedy recovery.#Iraq pic.twitter.com/Fxw1u4BZ4J
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) September 27, 2023
Here’s the latest snapshot of the deadly wedding hall fire in Iraq’s Nineveh
Security forces make arrests after deadly wedding hall fire
At least nine people working at the banquet hall that caught fire during a wedding reception have been arrested by security forces from Nineveh governorate.
Major General Abdullah al-Jubouri, operations commander in Nineveh, told reporters that those arrested helped manage al-Haitham Hall.
Al-Jubouri also said federal security forces are coordinating with authorities in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq to arrest the owner of the hall.