KRG investigates Capitol Hotel fire

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani assured the Philippines Government and victims' families of the Capitol Hotel fire that KRG will investigate the cause of the incident and will bring the culprit(s) to justice.

On Wednesday, in a meeting with Elmer Cato, Filipino Ambassador to Iraq, Barzani expressed condolences to the families and friends of the victims on behalf of the KRG and its citizens.

The Prime Minister said the KRG is ready to provide assistance in repatriating the victims' bodies to their homeland.

A fire at the Capitol Hotel in the Regional capital of Erbil killed at least 17 people on Friday, Feb. 5, many of whom were from the Philippines.

Cato and Nawzad Hadi, Governor of Erbil, confirmed the death of 13 Filipinos female workers.

Cato said currently almost 1,500 Filipinos work in Kurdistan Region. They arrived after 2003 when the Region experienced an economic boom.

The cause of the fire is suspected to be due to an electrical fault from a nearby massage center.   

 
Reporting by Gulala Khaled
Editing by Ava Homa