More than 100 people have been killed and 150 others injured in a fire at a wedding reception in the district of Hamdaniya in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, attracting global messages of sympathy.

Survivors said the fire, which swept through the hall in a matter of seconds, was triggered by fireworks that had been set off inside the hall before the bride and groom’s slow dance.

The Kurdish news channel Rudaw aired footage showing fireworks being lit indoors that shot up and set a chandelier on fire.

Footage shown on other local television networks appeared to show the bride and groom on the dancefloor when the fire began on Tuesday night, stunned by the sight of the burning debris. According to reports, the bride and groom survived but suffered burns.

A relative told Iraq’s Channel 1: “We miraculously left the place. The groom and the bride were among the people who survived the accident. I was just with them, and their psychological condition was very difficult. I took some wounded to the hospital. What I saw in the hospital is difficult to describe. Many of the victims were burned and dead.”

Footage of flaming debris falling from above as guests ran to escape al-Haitham hall, with many inside apparently overcome by toxic smoke as flammable plastic ceiling panels caught fire.

In a statement, civil defence authorities reported the presence of prefabricated panels inside the hall that were “highly flammable”, adding that the fire was exacerbated by toxic gas emitted by the “burning of the highly flammable Ecobond plastic panels, which violate safety standards”.

Rania Waad, who was at the wedding and sustained a burn to her hand, said that as the bride and groom were dancing, “the fireworks started to climb to the ceiling, the whole hall went up in flames”.

“We couldn’t see anything,” Waad, 17, said. “We were suffocating, we didn’t know how to get out.”

“We saw the fire pulsating, coming out of the hall,” said Imad Yohana, 34, who escaped the inferno. “Those who managed got out and those who didn’t got stuck. Even those who made their way out were broken.”

Large wedding halls, often easily recognisable because of their neon lights outside, are a familiar sight across Iraq and the Middle East, hosting packed celebrations.

The health department in Nineveh put the death toll at 114. Health ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr had earlier put the number of injured at 150. “All efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate accident,” Badr said.

“The majority of the injured suffer from burns and asphyxiation,” he said, adding that there had also been crowd crushes at the scene.

Video of the aftermath showed the hall gutted and blackened by the fire with the building’s roof collapsed.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/27/iraq-wedding-fire-hamdaniya-nineveh-provice-at-least-100-people-killed