Absolute Tragedy in Iraq: Assyrian wedding fire leads to 110+ deaths in Qaraqosh (Baghdeda) , Iraq - FULL COVERAGE

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An absolute tragedy has struck the Assyrian Christian town of Qaraqosh (Baghdeda) , in the province of Mosul (Nineveh) , northern Iraq. According to the Associated Press, a fire broke out at a wedding hall in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province, in the Hamdaniya area, killing at least 100 people and injuring 150 others1. The cause of the fire is yet to be officially determined, but preliminary reports suggest that fireworks at the venue may have sparked the blaze.

في حفل زفاف أنباء عن عشرات الضحايا
في حادثة حريق في قرقوش - بغديدا - الحمدانية في إحدى القاعات .
سبب حادثة حريق قاعة المناسبات الألعاب النارية والشموع ومواد أخرى

Read more: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-iraq-wedding-fire-leaves-31036444

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Video Shows Start of Iraqi Wedding Fire, Killing Over 100 People
 
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The bride and groom (both safe, thank god) here mourning the dead, including most of the bride's family.
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The owner of the banquet hall (Sameer Sliman Nabu - سمير سليمان نبو ) has been arrested by authorities and will face numerous charges for the extremely unsafe building practices and not meeting building and fire codes.

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Video from the bride's preparation day of the wedding.

 
This quote from one of those affected by this tragedy perfectly sums it up:

“This tragedy hurt us more than ISIS. At least when ISIS came we could escape, but now a wedding became a graveyard for us.”
 
اخر التطورات والمستجدات من حريق عرس الحمدانية في بغديدا

- الرئيس العراقي برهم صالح أصدر بيانا يعبر فيه عن حزنه وتعازيه لأسر الضحايا ويطالب بفتح تحقيق شامل

ومحاسبة المسؤولين عن الحادث¹.



- محافظ نينوى نجم الجبوري أعلن الحداد لمدة أسبوع على ضحايا الحريق وأمر بإغلاق جميع قاعات الأفراح في المحافظة حتى إشعارآخر³.



- قائد عمليات نينوى اللواء الركن عبدالله الجبوري أكد أن التحقيقات انتهت وأنه تم توقيف 19 شخصا متهما بالضلوع في الحادث، منبينهم صاحب القاعة وعمالها وثلاثة من أطلقوا الألعاب النارية².



- رئيس مجلس الوزراء محمد شياع السوداني زار موقع الحادث والمصابين في المستشفى وأكد أنه سيتخذ كافة الإجراءات لتقديمالمساعدات والتعويضات للضحايا وذويهم⁶.



- عشرات المواطنين شاركوا في تشييع جثامين الضحايا في مشهد مؤثر، حيث انهار عروسان نجيا من الحريق فوق توابيت أقاربهموأصدقائهم⁵.
 
- Security forces have arrested 19 people suspected of being involved in the fire, including the owner of the hall, its workers, and three people who launched the fireworks



- Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has ordered the retirement of the director general of Nineveh health department and the director of al-Hamdaniyah hospital, and the termination of the director of the emergency department in the hospital



- The Iraqi Civil Defense has said that the fire was caused by fireworks, candles, and other materials used during the wedding celebration, and that the hall did not have proper safety measures or fire extinguishers



- A parliamentary committee has been formed to investigate the incident and issue recommendations to prevent such tragedies from happening again
 
New videos of the incident when it first happened, taken from different angels.

 
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خطيب مريم جنت بره القاعة ومريم خطيبتي خابرتني كالت ديربالك على روحك اني راح اموت كتلها شكو احجي؟ كالت القاعة احترگت رحت طبيت بينما كسرت الجام ادور عليها لكيتها مامحتركة بس مختنكة وميتة والموبايل بيدها
خطبت مريم بعيد الحب وكنا متفقين نتزوج هذا الشهر بس الظروف منعتنا وكتلها خل نأجلها شهر شهرين وعلى اساس نتزوج بشهر العاشر لان هسه يلا حصلت وظيفة وهسه اني بدون مريم يمكن راح يصير بيا شي
😔


Mariam's fiancé (pictured above), left the hall, and Mariam, his fiancée, called him saying, "take care of ourself; I feel like I'm going to die."
He asked her, "What's wrong? tell me?" The hall became chaotic, so I went outside, searching for her. I found her motionless, unconscious, otherwise her body unharmed by the fire ... and the mobile phone in her hand"

Their engagement was supposed to be after valentine's day in Iraq, and they had agreed to get married this month, but circumstances prevented them. She suggested postponing it for a month or two, planning to marry in October. Now he finally found a job, but with his fiancee gone, he feels like something will happen to him.
 
This is a results of an electrical inspection of the hall back on October 11, 2022, confirming the place adhere to safety standards and that there are no safety hazards! Don't know how they could have cleared it given all the safety violations we now know of, including the lack of something as essential as fire extinguishers!!

It has also been revealed that the hall was built on farm land, with hydro corridor wires (with high voltage) passing through, meaning that this was also a risky proposition and should these wires ever fell or had any sparks, could have also led to a deadly fire. Some wonder how this ever got approved, even in a place like Iraq where you can pay your way through corruption and bad deals.
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Read our latest Assyrian Voice E-magazine article about this tragedy:

 
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