Death toll in Iraq covid ward blaze 92
   Date :14-Jul-2021

Death toll in Iraq _1&nbs
 People gather at the COVID-19 hospital in Nasiryah, Iraq on early Tuesday after a fire swept through a covid ward in Iraq. (AP)
 
 
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra :
 
BAGHDAD,
 
Anguished relatives were still looking for traces of their loved ones on Tuesday morning, searching through the debris of charred blankets and belongings inside the torched remains of the ward
 
 
THE death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital coronavirus ward in Iraq has climbed to at least 92, the Iraqi state news agency reported on Tuesday. The announcement came as anguished family members buried their loved ones and lashed out at the government over the tragedy. The blaze that erupted on Monday in the city of Nasiriyah was the second catastrophic fire in less than three months to kill hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Iraq, where the health care system has been crippled by decades of war and sanctions.
 
Two health officials said more than 100 people were also injured in the fire that torched the coronavirus ward of al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in the city of Nasiriyah on Monday. Anguished relatives were still looking for traces of their loved ones. Many cried openly, their tears tinged with anger, blaming both the provincial government of Dhi Qar, where Nasiriyah is located, and the federal government in Baghdad for years of mismanagement and neglect.