The wedding fire in Iraq

Images on social media show the fire breaking out in the middle of the dance. 

The wedding fire in Iraq  

The bride and groom died in the fire - dancing as flames erupted  

Both the bride and the groom died in the fire at a wedding in the Hamdaniya district of Iraq last night, authorities said, according to the BBC.  

The couple were dancing with each other when flames suddenly shot up to the ceiling. Images on social media show burning parts from the ceiling falling towards the dancing bride and groom backing away.  

At least 100 people died in the fire and 150 were injured. The condition of around 50 people is said to be critical. 

There are reports that fireworks started the fire but the cause is still under investigation. According to local media reports, the building was constructed of flammable, prohibited materials.  

People on site after the fire in a wedding venue. Farid Abdulwahed / AP 

Iraqi journalist: Hospitals cannot help the wounded  

One of the main reasons why so many people died in the fire at a wedding in northern Iraq last night is the poorly equipped hospitals in the area. This is what the Iraqi journalist Blesa Shaways tells the BBC. There is a lack of both logistics and medical equipment, he says. 

- Local officials in Mosul blame the Iraqi government for not having solved the problems with the hospitals, and the problems for the health sector in general in Mosul after the IS occupation.  

According to a preliminary assessment, fireworks may have caused the fire. The building is said to have had flammable cladding, which is banned in the country, according to the Iraqi News Agency.  

At least 100 people have been confirmed dead and 150 have been injured.  

The wedding venue / An injured girl is treated in hospital. TT  

100 dead and many injured in fire at wedding in Iraq  

At least 100 people have died and more than 150 have been injured in a fire at a wedding in the al-Hamdaniyah area near Mosul in northwestern Iraq. This is stated by the health authority of Nineveh province, citing preliminary figures, according to several news agencies.  

It has not been determined how the fire started, but according to early reports it may have been caused by fireworks, the BBC reports. Flammable panels in the building may have led to a rapid spread of fire and the collapse of the roof.  

- We saw how the fire pulsed out through the building. Those who could got out and those who couldn't got stuck, Imad Yohana, 34, who managed to escape the fire inferno, told Reuters.  

al-Hamdaniyah map.