Grieving and angry Iraqis demanded justice on Tuesday after at least 92 people died when an explosion and fire ripped through a coronavirus hospital in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
The fire in a temporary quarantine clinic at Al-Hussein Hospital began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank, which exploded.
By early morning on Tuesday, only the charred remains of the building were visible, with colored blankets strewn across the blackened debris as wisps of smoke rose from the rubble. The dead included 21 charred bodies that were still unidentified.
It was the second such incident in three months, after 82 people were killed when oxygen tanks blew up at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad in April. President Barham Salih said both fires were “the result of endemic corruption and mismanagement that disregards the lives of Iraqis.”
Rescue teams at the Al-Hussein clinic used a heavy crane on Tuesday to remove the melted remains of the building, and relatives gathered near by as young volunteers cleared debris.
“This is an unforgivable crime,” said Abu Nour Al-Shawi. “A patient comes in looking for treatment and he ends up being carried out in a coffin by his family. This place is not even fit for animals.”
Uday Al-Jaberi, who lost four relatives in the fire, said: “I want to send a message to those who committed this crime — haven’t you had enough of Nasiriyah’s blood? We don’t have a government in power, we have a mafia. We have criminals ruling the country.”
Imad Hashim, 46, whose mother, sister-in-law and niece died in the fire, said: “What should I say after losing my family? No point demanding anything from a failed government. Three days and this case will be forgotten like others.”
At the city’s morgue, anger spread among people waiting to receive their relatives’ bodies.
“No quick response to the fire, not enough firefighters. Sick people burned to death. It’s a disaster,” said Mohammed Fadhil, whose brother died.
A doctor at the hospital said it had no basic safety precautions. “The hospital lacks a fire sprinkler system or even a simple fire alarm,” he said. “We complained many times that a tragedy could happen any moment from a cigarette stub, but every time we got the same answer from health officials: ‘We don’t have enough money’.”
Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi ordered the suspension and arrest of health and civil defense managers in Nasiriyah, and the hospital’s manager. Government investigators arrived in the city on Tuesday morning and their findings would be published next week, he said.
“Yesterday’s incident indicates a structural defect in the administrative structure of the Iraqi state, because we have not diagnosed or followed-up on errors, and so citizens have become victims,” Kadhimi said.
“Those responsible will be held accountable according to the law.”