BAGHDAD, July 17 (Bernama-dpa) — Nearly 50 people were killed in a massive fire at a hypermarket in the Iraqi city of al-Kut, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
A local governor said on Thursday, the blaze gutted the multi-storey mall overnight in the province of Wasit, around 170 kilometres southeast of Baghdad, trapping shoppers inside the place amid rising flames and heavy smoke, eyewitnesses said.
Some Iraqi media reported that the fire left 77 people dead and dozens injured, as firefighters were still trying to put it out and recover the bodies of the dead from under the rubble.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
The dead included women and children, Wasit Governor Mohammed Jamil al-Miyahi said, according to Iraq’s state news agency INA.
“We will not be lenient towards those who directly or indirectly caused this incident,” he said, declaring three days of mourning in the province.
Al-Miyahi added that findings of a preliminary investigation into the incident would be made public in 48 hours.
Locals said the blaze had spread due to a lack of safety standards at the mall.
— BERNAMA-dpa