At least 52 people died and 22 were wounded when a massive fire engulfed the coronavirus isolation ward of an Iraqi hospital, a health official said.
The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah late Monday and was brought under control by local civil defence forces.
"The victims died of burns and the search is continuing," he added, noting that there were fears people could still be trapped inside the building.The deadly hospital blaze is the second such fire in Iraq in three months."The parties have burned us," they shouted in unison.Local authorities imposed a state of emergency in Dhi Qar governorate, of which Nasiriyah is the capital, and ordered doctors on leave to help treat the injured.
Iraq's interior ministry said on Facebook that the fire tore through temporary structures erected next to the main building, but did not specify the cause.In April, a fire at a Baghdad Covid-19 hospital killed 82 and injured 110, sparked by the explosion of badly stored oxygen cylinders. Iraq - where the oil-reliant economy is still recovering from decades of war and insurgency, and where many people live in poverty - has recorded over 1.4 million coronavirus cases and more than 17,000 deaths.
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