Indoor Fireworks Start Catastrophic Fire at Iraqi Wedding, Killing at Least 100 People – Watch Video
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A wedding celebration at a banquet hall in Qaraqosh, Iraq, turned into a hellscape for its over 1,000 guests after indoor fireworks started a catastrophic blaze that killed at least 100 people and injured 150 others on Tuesday.
Three days of national mourning have been declared by the president of Iraq, and an investigation opened. Reports state that multiple safety codes were violated, such as the lack of fire extinguishers at the venue.
Highly flammable construction materials were used to build the banquet hall, which is said to have caused the rapid spread of the fire. In a video taken during the wedding, multiple fireworks can be seen lit beneath what appears to be an immense chandelier in the ceiling.
The chandelier slowly erupts into flames and starts to spread across the roof of the hall as guests look on, some capturing the moment on their phones. In another clip, the bride, Haneen, can be seen as the chaos of the fire begins to unfold, and guests run for cover as parts of the banquet hall, now ablaze, collapse to the ground.
Funerals for the deceased are scheduled to begin on Wednesday evening. The bride and her spouse, Rivan Esho, survived the blaze but were injured and remain in the hospital.
Nine people have so far been arrested following the deadly fire, and as the authority’s investigation into the incident continues, arrest warrants for four others have been issued.
Watch the video below.
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