MOI: the records of 82 death cases and 110 wounding in Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital fire accident

Baghdad - INA

The Ministry of Interior announced that 82 people were killed and 110 injured in the Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital fire accident, while noting that more than 7,000 fires have occurred so far in the first third of this year .

The spokesman for the ministry, Major General Khaled Al-Muhanna, said in a statement to Al-Iraqiya News, which was followed by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital fire accident killed 82 martyrs and 110 injured," indicating that "the accident would not have happened had there been sufficient precautions."

He stressed that "no such incidents occurred," pointing out that "we do not want state institutions that deal with citizens, hospitals and public places to be neglected, and we must focus on safety aspects and civil defense issues."

Al-Muhanna stressed that "many institutions lack the simplest matters of safety and civil defense," noting that "Article 30 of the Civil Defense Law No. 44 of 2013 stipulates that the director and supervisor of the institution bear the procedures and responsibility for every fire accident that occurs without following the fundamental procedures."

Al-Muhanna indicated that "some victims died due to the fires and others threw themselves from a high place."

He continued, "90% of government institutions have not adhered to the procedures for civil defense and precautions aimed at the safety of the citizen," noting that "Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi confirmed in his instructions that such negligence was mentioned and it should be treated as a major crime."