Wedding Party Ends in Fire in Iraq, More Than 100 People Die

Illustration of firefighters. (Wikimedia Commons/DVIDSHUB)

JAKARTA - More than 100 people died and 150 people were injured when a wedding event turned into a fire in Hamdaniya District, Nineveh Province, Iraq, with rescue workers deployed to search for survivors in the rubble of buildings until early Wednesday morning.

Nineveh Deputy Governor Hassan al-Allaq told Reuters as quoted on September 27 that around 113 people had been confirmed dead, while state media put the death toll at at least 100 people and 150 people injured.

The fire burned down a large event hall being used after fireworks were set off during the wedding, local civil defense said, according to state media.

"We saw the fire burning, coming out of the hall. Those who managed to get out and those who didn't were trapped. Those who managed to get out were also trapped," said Imad Yohana (34), who managed to escape.

Meanwhile, video from correspondents at the scene showed firefighters climbing through the charred rubble of buildings, shining through the burning ruins to search for survivors.

Initial information suggests the building was made of highly flammable construction materials, contributing to its rapid collapse, state media said.

Ambulances and medical crews were sent to the site by Iraqi federal authorities and the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, according to an official statement.

Meanwhile, eye witnesses at the location said the building caught fire at around 22.45 local time and hundreds of people were present at the time of the incident.