Baghdad hospital fire: Massive blaze at COVID-19 hospital kills 27; several more injured

A massive blaze broke out in Baghdad's COVID-19 hospital leaving 27 people dead and at least 46 injured on Saturday. The hospital was located in Baghdad's Southeastern region and was armed with COVID-19 fatalities. Reportedly, the fire broke out due to an oxygen tank exploded following an accident. 

The relief work has been initiated with the shifting of patients from Ibn Khatib hospital in the Diyala Bridge area of Baghdad. Several ambulances also reached the site to assist the injured patients. The medical sources informed that those patients who were not hurt are also getting shifted. Sources suggest that fire has been brought under control. 

Dr. Sabah al-Kuzaie added that there are no exact numbers of casualties.

"I don’t know how many victims there are, there are so many burned bodies all over the place,” added Dr. Sabah al-Kuzaie.

The hospital had at least 120 people when the fire broke out. The second floor of the hospital erupted due to the fire. Doctors at the unfortunate site confirmed that the oxygen cylinder caused the fire. 

Iraq COVID-19 condition

Iraq is currently facing a great challenge due to the outburst of COVID-19 cases. The fresh COVID-19 cases are recorded above 8000 which is an all-time high in the country. A total of 102,5288 people have been infected with COVID-19 virus including 15,217 deaths, according to the health ministry of the country. The Iraqi government has been appealing to people to get vaccinated however fake rumours and distrust towards medical facilities have led to a very low turnout of vaccination in the country.

The first cases appeared in February 2020 in Iraq and vaccination began last month with the help of the Covax programme which is designed to help lower and middle-income nations. The country is conducting nearly 40,000 tests daily. The country has a population of 40 million.