Fire scene
At about 10:45 p.m. local time on September 26, a serious fire broke out at a wedding in the town of Hamdaniyah in the northern province of Nineveh in northern Iraq, killing more than 100 people. It was previously reported that about 1,000 people were present in the wedding hall at the time of the fire, and the bride and groom may also have died in the fire.
However, according to media reports on September 30, the groom Revan and the bride Haneen survived the fire. The couple said that although the two survived the fire, they still felt dead and had no way to continue living in their original community.
Revan and Hanin said in an interview that they can no longer live in their hometown
Revan said he lost 15 loved ones in the fire, "My aunt died, my sister and brother-in-law were badly burned. Hanin, on the other hand, lost 10 relatives, including his mother, brother, uncle, etc., and was "unable to speak" at one point because of the loss of his loved ones. It is reported that Hanin's father is also currently in danger.
Revan said in an interview that the disaster meant they could no longer stay in their hometown. "We can't live here anymore. When we think we are happy, misfortune will come... Don't look at us alive now, but in fact our hearts are dead. ”
As for the cause of the deadly fire, Iraq's General Directorate of Civil Defense previously said that preliminary reports showed that fireworks were set off during the wedding event, which may have caused the fire. Revan, on the other hand, recalled that sparks began to appear from the ceiling.
"Probably due to some kind of short circuit, sparks started coming from the ceiling, and I heard a crackling sound and looked at the ceiling. And the ceiling also began to melt gradually, and the whole process took only a few seconds. Revan said it was during the dance, there was a brief blackout, and when the power was restored, he saw sparks from the ceiling and people started screaming and fleeing.
On the wedding day, the groom Revan and the bride Hanin
Revan also recalled running away with his bride in a wedding dress: "I grabbed my wife and dragged her all the time. A guest stepped on her during the escape, and her leg was injured. Revan also added that there was only one "useless" fire extinguisher at the scene.
Red Star News reporter Li Jinrui
Previously reported
The Iraqi wedding fire killed and injured hundreds of people, and the hall was suspected to have been destroyed by fireworks
Latest news
According to CCTV news, on the morning of the 27th local time, the governor of Iraq's Nineveh province said that the number of victims of a fire at a wedding in the Hamdaniyah area of the province has risen to 114, and nearly 200 others have been injured.
The bride and groom may have been killed, and it is suspected that fireworks caused a fire that destroyed the hall
According to media reports on the 27th, at about 10:45 pm local time on the 26th, a serious fire broke out at a wedding held in Hamdaniyah Town, Nineveh Province in northern Iraq, which has killed at least 100 people. About 1,000 people were present in the wedding hall at the time of the fire, and the bride and groom may have also died in the fire.
Wedding hall after the fire
Local officials and emergency services said a fire at a wedding celebration in Iraq's northern Iraqi province of Nineveh killed at least 113 people and injured more than 150. Nineveh Deputy Governor Hassan Arak said 113 deaths had been confirmed so far. According to the Nineveh Provincial Health Department, the fire also injured 150 people.
Rescuers search and rescue at the scene of the fire
Najem Jubri, governor of Nineveh province, said on the 27th that there is no final casualty figure for the fire, and the death toll is still likely to rise. Saif al-Badr, a spokesman for Iraq's Ministry of Health, said: "We are doing everything we can to provide relief to those affected by this unfortunate accident. ”
The fires have killed more than 100 people
Iraq's General Directorate of Civil Defense said preliminary reports indicated fireworks were set off during the wedding event, which may have been the cause of the fire. The agency said in a statement on the 27th that "preliminary information indicates that fireworks were used during the wedding, causing a fire in the hall." ”
According to the statement, the use of highly flammable, low-cost building materials in the wedding hall and the lack of alarm and firefighting equipment made the fire out of control, which in turn caused the ceiling of the hall to collapse, causing heavy casualties.
Fireworks are reportedly a common event at weddings in Iraq.