The Civil Defense Directorate in Iraq announced on Sunday that a fire had been extinguished in a hotel in downtown Karbala, resulting in the rescue of 78 guests and the death of a young girl. The Civil Defense statement reported that "Civil Defense teams rescued 78 guests after a fire broke out inside the 'Dhi Al-Hussein' Hotel, which consists of four floors and several shops on the ground floor, located on Al-Saddah Street in the center of Karbala."
The statement indicated that "the Directorate sent a ladder truck designated for high-rise buildings, along with several other firefighting vehicles fully staffed, to breach the hotel building and begin rescue operations to evacuate guests through the windows and roof of the hotel, while simultaneously extinguishing the flames from four sides to expedite control of the fire."
Additionally, it noted that "Civil Defense paramedic teams provided life-saving assistance to the injured guests after several suffered severe asphyxiation due to inhaling toxic fire smoke before securing their transport to a nearby hospital for necessary treatment, with the death of a girl recorded in the hospital due to asphyxiation."
The statement continued that "the incident was resolved and an investigation was opened at the police station responsible for the geographical area, relying on the report of a forensic expert to determine the cause of the fire," as reported by the Iraqi News Agency.
This disaster comes days after a fire broke out at Al-Hussein Hospital in Nasiriyah, designated for treating COVID-19 patients, resulting in dozens of deaths, the arrest of three officials, including the director of the institution, and the issuance of 10 additional arrest warrants by the judiciary. Officials were also dismissed in connection with the incident. A similar tragedy occurred in a COVID-19 treatment unit in a Baghdad hospital in April, resulting in the deaths of over 80 individuals.
