50 died after fire in corona hospital – VG

A fire broke out at a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq on Monday, local media reported, including Al Jazeera.

Iraqi health authorities say AP that at least 50 have died in the fire.

The cause of the fire has not been clarified, the health authorities tell the AP that it is due to a short circuit, while a spokesperson for the authorities in Dhi Qar province says the fire started when an oxygen cylinder exploded.

In addition, at least 20 people were injured, Reuters reports. Al Arabiya writes that the hospital should have the capacity to treat 100 patients, and it should have been more than 60 inpatients when the fire broke out.

The fire broke out at Al-Hussein Hospital, which treats corona patients.

The Iraqi newspaper Rudaw reports that the fire brigade is working to extinguish the fire, and to evacuate the building for patients. The Prime Minister and several ministers meet Monday night in an emergency meeting about the hospital fire.

Nasiriyah is located in southeastern Iraq, on the Euphrates River. In 2019, the city was shaken off bloody clashes between protesters and security forces, in which 36 people lost their lives.

And April stream a similar fire killed 82 people at another hospital in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Then there was talk that poor storage of oxygen tanks was the source of the fire. Already now melder Al Jazeera that local health authorities believe incorrect use of oxygen tanks may be the cause of this fire as well.

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