Baghdad: A massive fire during a wedding celebration in northern Iraq, which killed nearly 100 people and 150 others injured, was caused by ‘gross negligence’ and lack of safety measures, Iraqi interior minister Abdul Amir Al-Shammari said on Sunday.
The wedding hall in Nineveh’s Hamdaniya district, caught fire at about 10:45 pm local time on September 26. Christian newlyweds, 18-year-old Haneen and 27-year-old Revan, were enjoying a slow dance when the tragedy struck.
Footage shows guests at dinner tables listening to music as flames billow from a large chandelier above them.
Initial reports indicated that fireworks used during the wedding may have been responsible for the fire.
The venue, originally designed for 400 people, had more than 900 guests, according to a probe. “The fire was accidental and occurred due to gross negligence,” officials have found.
“Using flammable decoration helped the fire spread quickly and transformed the hall into a fireball,” Shammari was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Al-Shammari also announced the dismissal of a number of officials in Nineveh Governorate and referred them to the judiciary, Iraq News Agency reported.
