As hospital fire death toll reaches 92, Iraqi court issues arrest warrants for local officials

Mustafa Shilani 2021/07/13 18:16

Workers search the rubble of a coronavirus isolation ward of al-Hussein Hospital in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah after being destroyed by a deadly fire overnight, July 13, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Asaad Niazi)

Iraq Iraq Fire Nasiriyah Hospital COVID-19

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A court in the southern Iraqi province of Dhi Qar issued arrest warrants against several local officials accused of sharing responsibility for a devastating fire the night before at a hospital that has left more than 90 people dead and dozens more wounded.

The fire broke out at a coronavirus ward of al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in the city of Nasiriyah and was initially believed to be the result of oxygen cylinder explosions. Early death tolls began around 20, but climbed significantly on Tuesday, most recently when health officials upped the figure to 92 in the early evening.

The tragic blaze is the second such incident at an Iraqi COVID-19 treatment center in less than three months. In April a similar fire at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad killed 80 people and injured 100 more, forcing the health minister to resign.

Protesters poured onto the streets of Nasiriyah, Dhi Qar’s provincial capital, on Monday night, demanding the removal of top officials from their posts, citing poor administration and corruption at the highest levels of government.

"The [political] parties have burned us," they chanted, as reported by AFP.

The province’s health director and the head of al-Hussien Hospital were both detained and questioned by police, the French news agency reported.

As tensions appeared to continue rising, state media reported, "A judge from the Integrity Investigation Court in Dhi Qar issued arrest warrants against 13 defendants over the Nasiriyah tragedy yesterday, including the Director-General of Dhi Qar Health, Saddam al-Taweel."

"The judge instructed the competent authorities to complete the investigation procedures in their departments," it continued, "to resolve the case as soon as possible."

According to local reporting, the hospital’s COVID-19 ward had 70 beds that were available for people with severe cases of the coronavirus, which Iraq earlier on Monday recorded its highest daily infection rate so far this year.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday offered condolences to the fire's victims and said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was prepared to provide any necessary help.

The autonomous region’s Ministry of Health announced that Barzani had also ordered that it donate a "large quantity of oxygen" tanks to Dhi Qar province so that local health care workers, scrambling to care for those in their care suffering severe respiratory effects of the highly-infections disease.

Editing by John J. Catherine