A massive fire erupted late Tuesday at an Assyrian wedding reception in Baghdeda, northern Iraq, killing at least 100 people and injuring more than 150, according to initial reports. Officials warn the death toll is likely to rise.
An ambulance transporting the injured also overturned en route to a nearby hospital, straining an already overwhelmed emergency response.
Hospitals in Baghdeda, operating beyond capacity, have begun transferring patients to medical centers in Mosul, Erbil, and Kirkuk.
The Governor’s office in Mosul has urged residents to donate blood. Iraq’s prime minister said he contacted the Governor of Nineveh for updates and ordered authorities to “mobilize all efforts to provide relief.”
Baghdeda, located just south of Mosul, was home to an estimated 65,000 Assyrians before the rise of the Islamic State in 2014. After ISIS occupied the city until its liberation in 2016, the population plummeted. Today, it’s home to roughly 28,000.
The fire broke out at al-Haitham Hall, one of the city’s main wedding venues. Though the hall was renovated after ISIS’s defeat, local reports say it violated safety codes and that its walls were lined with highly flammable materials.
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[…] Hall was a popular event venue in Baghdeda before it caught fire last month during a wedding reception that was reported to have about 900 guests, almost twice the […]