Iran Press/ West Asia: Nineveh Deputy Governor Hassan al-Allaq told the Reuters news agency that 113 people have been confirmed dead so far. The fire was reported to have started at approximately 10:45 pm local time (19:45 GMT) on Tuesday night.
Najim al-Jubouri, the provincial governor of Nineveh, cautioned early on Wednesday that there were no final casualty figures yet from the blaze, which suggests the death toll still may rise.
“All efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate accident,” Iraq’s Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr said.
Iraq’s official INA news agency reported earlier that more than 150 people were also injured in the blaze, which engulfed an event hall in the province’s Hamdaniyah district where the wedding celebration was taking place. Hamdaniyah is located outside of the northern city of Mosul, some 400km (around 250 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad.
Iraq’s civil defense said initial reports indicated that fireworks used during the celebration may have been the cause of the fire. “Preliminary information indicates that fireworks were used during a wedding, which triggered a fire in the hall,” civil defence authorities said in a statement early on Wednesday.
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