Baghdad COVID care hospital fire claims at least 27 lives; 46 injured

BAGHDAD: At least 27 people were killed and 46 were injured in a fire that broke out at a hospital in southeastern Baghdad that had been built to house COVID-19 patients.

The fire broke out yesterday, at the Ibn Khatib hospital located in the Diyala Bridge area of the Iraqi capital after an accident that resulted in the explosion of an oxygen tank.

According to reports, both injured and patients who were not involved in the incident were also moved out of the hospital immediately.

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According to the head of Iraq's civil defense force, the fire broke out on the floor reserved for the pulmonary intensive care unit, and 90 patients were evacuated from the hospital out of a total of 120, according to international media.

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Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordering an investigation into the incident said, “Such an occurrence is indicative of incompetence, and I ordered that an investigation be conducted immediately and that the hospital's manager, as well as the heads of security and maintenance, be arrested, along with all those involved, before we find and keep those negligent responsible."

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