A deadly fire at a Baghdad hospital for coronavirus patients has killed at least 80 people and injured more than 100, the Iraqi Interior Ministry has said, leading to false allegations and negligence in the health ministry in the fight against the epidemic.
The blaze was ignited Saturday night with an explosive oxygen device, passing through Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in less than a minute, Associated Press reported. A paramedic who witnessed the incident told the media that the fires were like “mountains of fire”.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has called for a five-day investigation and suspended the health minister, Baghdad’s ambassador, and Al Rusafa state health director. He promised to answer for all those who did “neglect”.
Although he was Opec’s second-largest oil producer, Iraq enjoys a neglected construction project, a legacy of brutality against dictator Saddam Hussein in the 1990s and followed by unrest several years after his capture.
Hospitalization was provided to coronavirus patients. Iraq, like many other countries in the region, is struggling to reduce the epidemic. The disease has killed more than 15,000 Iraqis since the outbreak began, according to a study by the Ministry of Health.
Ali al-Bayati, a member of the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, which oversees the killings, said 28 people in the hospital room were on leave. “Corruption and internal problems [the health] The ministry is very deep, “Bayati told FT. He also said that unemployment and neglect had been ignored by successive ministers and called on Kadhimi to expand the investigation and” open the whole record in detail “.
Iraqi police at the entrance to the hospital. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has promised to answer all those who cause “negligence” © Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP via Getty
Major General Khaled al-Muhanna, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said on Sunday that 82 people had died in the fire at the hospital, with 110 people injured. “Some of the victims died in the fire and others threw themselves from the high ground,” he added, in a press release.
“Ninety government agencies did not follow the safety and security measures that are monitored. [safeguarding] citizen[s], “Said Muhanna.
Opponents of Iraq have long complained of corruption and mismanagement. The Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment is led by the ruling party Muqtadr al-Sadr, a former lawmaker and military leader who became a politician. Iraq is preparing for elections this autumn.
The country’s history of disasters is confirmed by a lack of public responsibility. At least 100 people have died after a boat capsized in the northern city of Mosul last year.
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