Following the disaster at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad, which resulted in the deaths of around 23 patients, angry protests erupted in the Iraqi capital on Sunday demanding the resignation of Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi. Iraqis have been sharing the hashtag #ResignHealthMinister on social media in recent hours, amid expectations that the number of victims could rise to 30.
**Three Days of Mourning**
In the early hours, the government announced a national mourning period of three days for the souls of the deceased from the massive fire that broke out on Saturday night in an intensive care unit dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients at the hospital. In a statement, the government indicated that following the fire at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi held an urgent meeting with several ministers, security leaders, and officials, after which he ordered "a period of mourning for the martyrs of the incident," deeming what occurred "a breach of Iraqi national security."
**Immediate Investigation Opened**
During the urgent meeting, Al-Kadhimi considered that "such an incident is evidence of negligence," therefore he directed the opening of an immediate investigation and the detention of the hospital director, head of security, maintenance manager, and all those responsible until those at fault are determined and held accountable. He emphasized that "negligence in such matters is not merely a mistake, but a crime for which all negligent parties must be held responsible," demanding that "the results of the investigation into the hospital incident be released within 24 hours, and that those at fault be held accountable regardless of who they are."
**Embarrassing Orders**
The Prime Minister called for "the formation of a technical team from all relevant ministries to ensure the auditing of safety procedures in all hospitals, hotels, and public places within one week across Iraq," stressing that he issued "a clear directive: every director must personally check safety procedures." He added, "No one should tell me it was an electrical short circuit; that is embarrassing… inspect every wire in every public facility or hospital, and any facility that claims an electrical short circuit will have everyone there held accountable."
Following the disaster, Al-Kadhimi declared the victims who lost their lives in the fire as "martyrs" and granted their families "all the rights of martyrs," in addition to covering the medical treatment of the burn victims at the state's expense "including treatment abroad."
The civil defense agency announced at midnight that its teams had gained control of the fire, which "started from the explosion of an oxygen cylinder according to eyewitness accounts," indicating that "the hospital lacks a fire detection and extinguishing system," and that "the secondary ceilings hastened the spread of the flames due to their flammable vinyl materials."
The Ministry of Health issued a statement saying that it "will later announce the exact numbers of casualties and injuries," adding that over 200 citizens had been rescued from patients in the hospital. No official casualty figures have been released yet, but medical sources clarified to AFP that the disaster, which resulted from "failure to adhere to safety protocols regarding the storage of oxygen cylinders" designated for treating COVID-19 patients, initially resulted in 23 deaths and around 50 injuries.
