SULAIMANI (ESTA) — At least 44 people were killed in a fire at a coronavirus hospital in Iraq’s southern city of Nasiriyah, health official said on Monday.
A large fire broke out at Imam al-Hussein coronavirus hospital late on Monday.
Reuters cited health officials as saying that more than 67 people were also injured in the fire.
The directorate of health in Dhi Qar province said more than 41 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded.
Initial police reports suggested that an oxygen tank explosion inside the hospital’s COVID-19 wards was the likely cause of the fire, a policeman at the scene of the fire told Reuters.
Health officials at Nasiriyah said search operations at the hospital were continuing after the fire was brought under control.
“Raging fires have trapped many patients inside the coronavirus ward and rescue teams are struggling to reach them,” a health worker told Reuters before entering the burning building.
In April, a fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad killed at least 82 people and injured 110 others.
*This story was updated at 09:27 a.m. EBL time
