A large hearth broke out inside a five-story shopping center in Kut, positioned in Wasit province, southern Iraq. The blaze unfold quickly, engulfing a number of flooring and leading to roughly 50 casualties, together with each deaths and accidents.
Movies of the incident circulating on social media confirmed intense flames engulfing the mall in a single day, whereas firefighters struggled to comprise the blaze. The video of the incident additionally reveals flames pouring from the constructing and thick smoke filling the realm.
The reason for the hearth continues to be below investigation, and no definitive purpose has been recognized but. The Governor has acknowledged that preliminary findings from the investigation might be introduced inside 48 hours, based on INA.
There may be hypothesis about potential electrical faults or failures in security tools, however nothing has been confirmed.
Iraq has a historical past of lethal fires because of insufficient security methods. In 2023, a fireplace at a marriage corridor in Qaraqosh killed greater than 100 folks because of flammable decorations and a scarcity of security measures.
Equally, in 2021, a hospital hearth in Baghdad claimed 82 lives after oxygen tanks exploded.
These incidents spotlight longstanding systemic points like poor hearth prevention infrastructure, a problem doubtless related to the mall blaze as nicely.