Agency: Causalities of Fire in Dhi Qar's Hospital Rise to 114 Deaths, Injuries

The Health Department in the Iraqi governorate of Dhi Qar, south of the country, announced that the death toll of the fire that gutted the Educational Hospital of Imam Al Hussein rose to 64 deaths along with 50 injuries according to Iraq's news agency.

But  the Iraqi "Alsumaria" TV, quoted  a security source as saying    that "the death toll from  Imam Al  Hussein Hospital in Dhi Qar Governorate has so far reached 63 deaths and 100 injuries."

The  source told Alsumaria TV that work is continuing to search under the rubble because there is information about the presence of bodies underneath."

In addition, the Dhi Qar Health Department revealed the cause of the fire that broke out in the isolation center for people infected with Coronavirus (known also as COVID-19) in Imam Hussein Hospital in the governorate.

The Health   Department of Dhi Qar said in a brief statement that the fire of Imam Hussein Hospital was caused by the lack of proper handling of oxygen canisters."

In a related context, a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, on Tuesday, issued several decisions, including sacking a number of officials in Dhi Qar Governorate after the fire.

Al-Kazemi's office said in a statement that the Prime Minister and  Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, held an emergency meeting that included a number of ministers, officials, and security leaders, to find out the causes of the fire incident at Imam Hussein Hospital   in Dhi Qar Governorate, and to address its repercussions."

It is worth noting that Dhi Qar's fire came hours later from another fire that took place in Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq.

It is worth noting that last April, a fire broke out in Ibn Al-Khattab Hospital in Baghdad, which is also designated to isolate Corona patients, and at that time about 100 people were killed there.