Deadly Fire at Newly Opened Mall in Iraq’s Kut Kills Over 50, Sparks Grief and Outrage
“We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner, and escape power cuts at home,” said Dr. Nasir al-Quraishi, who lost five family members in the fire. “An air conditioner exploded on the second floor, and then the fire erupted, and we couldn't escape."
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — More than 50 people were killed and many others injured after a massive fire tore through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight, medical and local officials told AFP on Thursday.
The blaze erupted late Wednesday in the Hyper Mall, just five days after it opened to the public. Flames reportedly began on the first floor and rapidly spread throughout the building, trapping dozens inside.
“We have more than 50 martyrs, and many unidentified bodies,” a medical source said. An official with the Wasit province health department confirmed the death toll at 55 and warned that rescuers were still searching for missing victims.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but at least one survivor told AFP the blaze started after an air conditioner exploded on the second floor.
Ambulances rushed to the scene and continued transporting casualties to local hospitals into the early morning hours. At 4:00 a.m., emergency workers were still pulling victims from the charred wreckage. An AFP correspondent at the hospital described harrowing scenes of grief and devastation, with some families receiving badly burned bodies of their loved ones.
“We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner, and escape power cuts at home,” said Dr. Nasir al-Quraishi, who lost five family members in the fire. “An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted, and we couldn't escape. A disaster has befallen us.”
Footage shared on social media showed anguished relatives gathered at the hospital, with several collapsing in grief as ambulances arrived. One man was seen pounding his chest on the ground, crying out, "Oh my father, oh my heart."
Wasit Governor Mohammed al-Miyahi declared three days of mourning and vowed accountability. He said local authorities would file lawsuits against both the mall’s owner and the construction contractor. “The tragedy is a major shock... and requires a serious review of all safety measures,” he said, adding that preliminary findings from the investigation are expected within 48 hours.
Miyahi previously told Iraq's official INA news agency that the disaster claimed both martyrs and injured victims.
Iraq has long struggled with poor enforcement of safety standards, particularly in the construction and public service sectors. The country's crumbling infrastructure — a legacy of war, corruption, and underinvestment — has frequently contributed to fatal fires and preventable accidents.
Fires become more common during Iraq’s extreme summer months, with temperatures soaring close to 50°C (122°F). The Kut mall tragedy follows a series of similar disasters, including a September 2023 fire that killed more than 100 people at a wedding hall in Nineveh province and a July 2021 blaze that tore through a COVID-19 unit in Nasiriyah, claiming over 60 lives.
As firefighters continued to search the debris of the Kut mall on Thursday, grieving families awaited word of missing loved ones — another grim chapter in Iraq’s struggle to protect its citizens from man-made disasters.
