Guwahati News Desk: It was on Monday, that a catastrophic blaze had erupted at a coronavirus hospital ward in Southern Iraq.
As per the recent reports, the death toll from this terrifying blaze has risen up to 92 on Tuesday.
According to two health officials, more than 100 people were also injured in the fire that torched the coronavirus ward of al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in the city of Nasiriyah on Monday.
Haidar al-Askari, who was at the scene of the blaze stated, “The whole state system has collapsed, and who paid the price? The people inside here. These people have paid the price.”
According to sources, throughout the night the firefighters and rescuers, many with just flashlights and using blankets, tried to extinguish small fires still smoldering in places and were seen frantically searching throughout the ward in mere darkness.
However as dawn broke, bodies were covered with sheets and were laid on the ground outside the hospital.
Meanwhile, the anguished relatives were still looking for traces of their loved ones on Tuesday morning, searching through the debris of charred blankets and belongings inside the torched remains of the ward.
The incident had left the relatives of the deceased as well as the entire public shattered with tears and anger in their eyes.
Many blamed both the provincial government of Dhi Qar, where Nasiriyah is located and the federal government in Baghdad, for the years of mismanagement and neglect.
Regarding the cause of the fire outbreak, some officials said that the fire was caused by an electric short circuit, but provided no further details.
While, another official said that the blaze erupted when an oxygen cylinder exploded. The officials further spoke on the condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Photo | AP News
According to sources, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi chaired an emergency meeting in the wake of the fire and ordered the suspension and arrest of the health director in Dhi Qar, as well as the director of the hospital and the city’s director of civil defense. Infact, a government investigation has also been launched.