Iran Press/ Middle East: At least 82 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a fire that broke out in the coronavirus intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital, Al Jazeera reported.
The blaze on Sunday at the Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in the Iraqi capital was sparked by an accident that caused an oxygen tank to explode, according to medical sources.
The flames spread quickly, according to civil defense officials, as the hospital had no fire protection system and false ceilings allowed the flames to spread to highly flammable products.
Patients’ relatives scrambled during the blaze to save their loved ones.
Ahmed Zaki, who was visiting his brother when the fire broke out, described people jumping out of windows as the fire spread quickly throughout the unit equipped to treat COVID-19 patients.
“In the beginning, there was an explosion,” he said, adding: “People were jumping… Doctors fell on the cars. Everyone was jumping.”
The interior ministry announced on Sunday afternoon that 82 people were killed and 110 were injured in the blaze.
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