Fire Engulfs Iraqi Hospital COVID Unit, Killing at Least 66

Distraught relatives streamed to Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah Tuesday morning, searching for the remains of loved ones who could not escape the blaze that broke out Monday in the hospital’s coronavirus ward, killing at least 66 people and injuring more than 100. The direct cause of the fire in the 70-bed war is unclear, but officials mentioned the possibility of an electrical short circuit igniting an oxygen tank, resulting in an explosion. The real blame, say many of the bereaved relatives, as well as medical personnel, is lax and poor enforced safety standards, mismanagement and neglect by the Dhi Qar provincial government and the federal government in Baghdad. A fire that broke out under similar circumstances just three months ago in the COVID ward of Baghdad’s Ibn al-Khateeb Hospital killed at least 82 people. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered the suspension and arrest of the directors of Dhi Qar Governorate’s Health Department, Nasiriyah’s civil defense force, and the hospital.