Officials Investigate Hypermarket Inferno Claimed 60 Lives in Iraq
At least 60 people were killed and 11 remain missing after a massive fire tore through a multi-story commercial building in Al-Kut, a city in eastern Iraq, according to health officials and local police on Thursday.
The blaze broke out overnight at a hypermarket housed within a five-story structure. Videos shared online showed flames engulfing the building as emergency crews worked to control the inferno. While Reuters could not independently verify the footage, the images have sparked widespread concern over safety conditions in Iraqi commercial spaces.
Authorities have begun the grim task of identifying the victims. A city health official told Reuters that 59 bodies have been positively identified, but one was so severely burned that identification has proven extremely difficult. Additional victims are believed to be still trapped beneath the debris.
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Ali al-Mayahi, a local government official, said, “We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris.”
The cause of the fire remains unclear. According to Iraq’s state news agency INA, the governor of Wasit Province stated that early findings from an official investigation will be released within 48 hours.
“We have filed lawsuits against the owner of the building and the mall,” the governor said, as quoted by INA.
Large fires in Iraq are often attributed to poor infrastructure, lax safety enforcement, and inadequate emergency response. Similar disasters in recent years have prompted public criticism of regulatory oversight.
