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Iraqi officials are struggling to identify more than dozens of bodies pulled from a fatal fire at a shopping centre on Friday as investigations continue to determine the cause of the flames.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, Iraqi medical officials said the final death toll from the fire on Wednesday was 63, including 18 bodies that could not be identified due to the severity of the burn and undergo DNA testing.
The Cornish Hypermarket Centre, located in the town of Kut in Wasit, a five-storey building that includes restaurants, shops and supermarkets, said it broke out on the second floor of an area selling flames and cosmetics.
Civil defense crews were able to save 45 people from the burning building. Officials said most of the dead were trapped on upper floors.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but authorities have condemned the lack of safety standards for the building due to the scale of the tragedy.
Governor Mohammed Al Miyahi said the building owner had failed to implement fire safety measures and had not obtained the necessary permits.
WASIT’s state council voted on Thursday to carry out building safety inspections and form a committee to suspend KUT municipality and occupational safety directors until a fire investigation is complete.
Almiyahi said on Thursday that legal complaints have been filed against the owner of the building and the owner of the shopping centre.
The governor said at a press conference that the son of the center’s owner and other members of his family were among the victims.
Inadequate building standards often contribute to Iraq’s tragic fires.
In July 2021, the flames at a hospital in Nasirya city, which killed 60-92 people, decided that they had been fueled a highly flammable, low-cost “sandwich panel” cladding that is illegal in Iraq.
In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding venue in Hamdanya, Nineveh.
Additional sources •AP
