More Than 80 Killed in Fire at Baghdad COVID-19 Hospital

More than 80 people have died in a fire at a hospital for patients with the coronavirus in Baghdad. The fire erupted on Sunday after an accident which caused an oxygen tank to explode. It spread quickly through the hospital, which did not have a fire protection system in place.

Some ninety patients and visiting family members escaped the blaze  at the Ibn Khatib hospital, which was put out by firefighters, according to Iraq’s civil defense. The health ministry said that over 200 patients were rescued from the fire. The number of dead is expected to rise.

The Iraqi Human Rights Commission reported that 45 were killed in the blaze but that number was later revised upward. Some died because they had to be taken off of ventilators in order to be moved, according to the report.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has called for three days of national mourning. He also ordered an investigation into the fire.