At least 61 people were killed after a devastating fire swept through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut on Wednesday night, authorities confirmed on Thursday.
According to Iraq’s Interior Ministry, the majority of victims died from smoke inhalation in bathrooms, while 14 of the deceased remain unidentified due to severe burns. One grieving man told AFP he lost five relatives who were trapped in an elevator.
The inferno erupted late Wednesday at the five-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall, which had just recently opened to the public. The blaze is believed to have started on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the entire building. While the exact cause is still under investigation, a survivor reported that an air conditioning unit exploded just before the fire broke out.
“This is a disaster,” said Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s who lost five family members in the tragedy. “We had only come to eat and escape the power outages at home.”
Rescue operations continued through the night, with civil defence teams managing to save more than 45 people trapped inside. The mall, which housed a restaurant and a supermarket, was completely charred, according to eyewitness reports.
Ali Kadhim, 51, said he had spent the night moving between the mall and the main hospital in search of his cousin, who was missing along with his wife and three children. “We don’t know if they’re alive or among the dead,” he said.
An AFP correspondent at the scene described how grieving families gathered outside the forensic department, many collapsing in anguish as bodies were brought in.
Authorities have declared three days of mourning. The governor of Wasit Province, Mohammed al-Miyahi, announced legal action against the mall’s owner and contractor, citing failure to install proper fire safety systems. “This tragedy is a wake-up call for serious reforms in building safety protocols,” he said.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has ordered a full investigation to determine the cause of the fire and “identify shortcomings” to prevent future tragedies. Iraq has a history of fatal fires due to poor infrastructure and inadequate safety enforcement.
International condolences poured in following the disaster, with messages of sympathy from Egypt, Iran, France, and the United States. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement offering “deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies” to the victims’ families.
This is the latest in a string of deadly fires in Iraq. In September 2023, over 100 people perished in a wedding hall fire, and in July 2021, a fire at a COVID-19 hospital ward claimed more than 60 lives.
