Перейти к основному содержанию

Iraq: Hospital Fire incident - Final Report DREF Operation n°MDRIQ012

Страны
Ирак
Источники
IFRC
Дата публикации
Происхождение
Просмотреть оригинал

SITUATION ANALYSIS

Description of the disaster

On 13 July 2021, a fire broke out in the coronavirus ward of the al-Hussein Teaching Hospital located in the southern city of Nasiriyah, southern Iraq. According to health officials, the incident killed 92 people and injured 110 more. Two healthcare workers were among those who lost their lives. Patients were trapped inside, with rescue teams struggling to reach them in time. This is the second hospital fire in Iraq within a three-month period. In April of that year, a fire at a hospital in Baghdad killed 82 people and injured 110 others. The blaze at Al-Hussein hospital in the southern city of Nasiriyah is believed to have been ignited when an oxygen tank exploded, according to police reports.
In the aftermath of the incident, the destruction continued outside the hospital as angry relatives clashed with authorities and set two police vehicles on fire. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered the suspension and arrest of health and civil defense managers in Nasiriyah and the manager of the hospital, according to a statement issued from his office.
Final Report Iraq: Hospital Fire Incident Public Already ruined by decades of war, sanctions, mismanagement, and corruption, the pandemic has further crippled Iraq's healthcare system with acute shortages of staff and medical equipment. COVID-19 has killed nearly 25,300 people and infected more than 2.4 million in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.