Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): Following the deadly fire last night in a wedding hall in Al Hamdania town located in Nineveh province, a week of public mourning was announced in this province and the Iraqi president demanded a detailed investigation into this incident and Necessary measures were taken to prevent the recurrence of such an incident in the future.
Iraq's official news agency announced that at least 100 people died and more than 150 were injured following a fire last night (September 26) at a wedding ceremony in this town.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, the governor of Nineveh announced the number of victims as 114 dead and around 200 wounded, and this morning the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization announced the number of victims as 450 dead and wounded.
Some unofficial sources also announced the number of victims as 120 dead and more than 300 wounded.
The cause of the fire is based on preliminary information
The Iraqi Civil Defense Organization announced the cause of the fire based on the initial information obtained and the video that is in hand, the use of fireworks in Iraqi ceremonies and expanding its scope and explained in a statement: "Wedding hall with flammable panels that are against Safety instructions were covered and the fire spread due to non-compliance with safety requirements in fire alarm and extinguishing systems and had high casualties.
According to the Iraqi media, after this deadly incident, the forces of the 30th brigade of the Al-Hashd al-Shaabi organization became alert and immediately reached Al-Hamdaniya to provide relief to the victims and cooperate with the relief forces.
Iraqi Prime Minister's order to provide immediate relief to the victims
Immediately after this fire, the Prime Minister of Iraq ordered the Ministers of Interior and Health to mobilize all their efforts to provide relief to the injured and send medical teams to help treat the injured and survivors as quickly as possible.
Saif al-Badr, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Health, announced today that the situation is completely under control and that the ministry is carefully following the process of providing relief and sending medicine, rescue vehicles and medical teams to Nineveh province.
The president ordered an investigation
Iraqi President Abd al-Latif Jamal Rashid also said: What happened to our children in Al-Hamdania region is a painful tragedy and an incident that hurts our hearts and all the people of Iraq. We emphasize the necessity of starting an investigation, revealing the hidden dimensions of this incident and taking all safety measures to prevent the recurrence of such an incident.
He further expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Announcing a week of public mourning in Ninava
The official news agency of Iraq (WAA) reported: "Najm al-Jubouri", the governor of Nineveh, announced a week of public mourning due to the killing and wounding of hundreds of Iraqi citizens during the wedding ceremony on Tuesday night in Al-Hamdaniyah.
The statement of Nineveh governor's office stated that Al-Jubouri declared a week of public mourning in this province and ordered that all celebrations on the occasion of the blessed birthday of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) be canceled until further notice.
He also ordered that tomorrow, Thursday, to pay respect to the victims of this accident, employees in all departments and institutions of Nineveh province should stand and be silent for one minute.