Dozens of Iraqi coronavirus patients die in fire sparked by oxygen tank explosion

Officials said at least 82 people died and over 110 were injured when the fire broke out in the ICU of a Baghdad hospital

Iraq is battling a severe second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, with daily cases averaging new highs of about 8,000

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First responders work at the scene of a fire at a hospital in Baghdad after oxygen cylinders reportedly exploded late on Saturday. Photo: AP

Published: 6:35pm, 25 Apr 2021Updated: 6:37pm, 25 Apr 2021

Iraq’s Interior Ministry on Sunday said that at least 82 people died and 110 were injured in a catastrophic fire that broke out in the intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital tending to severe coronavirus patients.

Negligence on the part of hospital authorities has been blamed for the Saturday night fire, which initial reports suggest was caused when an oxygen cylinder exploded in the ward of Ibn al-Khatib hospital.

Iraq’s prime minister fired key hospital officials hours after the catastrophic incident.

Among the dead were at least 28 patients on ventilators battling severe symptoms of the virus, tweeted Ali al-Bayati, a spokesman of the country’s independent Human Rights Commission. The commission is a semi-official body.

Iraqi policemen stand at the gate of Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad after a fire erupted in the medical facility reserved for the most severe Covid-19 cases. Photo: AFP

Firefighters rushed to battle the flames that raged across the second floor of the hospital. Civil defence teams put out flames until the early hours of the morning.