At least 100 people have died in a fire at a wedding in northwestern Iraq.
Another 150 people have been injured, according to regional authorities.
– The fireworks hit the roof, which started to burn, says a survivor.
The incident took place in the area of al-Hamdaniyah ii in Nineveh province near the city of Mosul. Television images from the scene show how the flames spread quickly in the party room where the wedding was held. Once the fire was out, only metal and other debris could be seen, with the lights of the television cameras as the only source of light.
Survivors were taken overnight to local hospitals where they were bandaged and given oxygen while their relatives crowded the corridors.
More than 100 are still missing and a search operation for more survivors is in full swing.
According to the BBC, the wedding couple should be among the dead.
The likely cause
According to early information, the fire should have broken out after fireworks were set off in the party room. The course of the fire itself is also feared to have gone quickly as a result of flammable panels in the premises, the Iraqi Civil Defense told the state news agency INA, according to BBC.
– Within a few seconds the whole hall was in flames, says a survivor.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has decided to open an investigation into how the fire started. And he has asked the country’s interior and health authorities to offer emergency assistance, his office said in a statement.