82 Dead, 110 Injured as Oxygen Tanks Explode at COVID-19 Hospital
- Iraq has lost a least 82 people to a fire that broke out at one of its prominent hospitals on Saturday, April 24.
- The fire which was reportedly caused by the explosion of oxygen tanks also left 110 people injured
- Iraq's prime minister has declared a national day of mourning to honour the victims while ordered an investigation to unravel the cause of the inferno
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No fewer than 82 people reportedly died in a fire incident reported at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in Iraq's capital city of Baghdad on Saturday night, April 24.
CNN reports that the country's Ministry of Interior made the disclosure on Sunday, April 25, adding that 110 people were also injured in the blaze.
Legit.ng gathers that two health officials whose names were not disclosed said the fire started after oxygen tanks exploded.
Source: Twitter
However, the interior ministry said investigations are still ongoing to unravel the cause of the inferno.
It was learnt that people from all over Iraq are referred to the hospital in Baghdad, including many with COVID-19.
Reacting to the incident, the prime minister of Iraq, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, said the hospital fire was "a crime" and insisted those responsible should be held accountable.
The prime minister declared a period of national mourning for those killed and ordered that results of the investigation be available within 24 hours.
In its report of the incident, Al Jazeera stated that the prime minister has fired the director-general of the Baghdad Health Department in the area where the hospital is located.
He also reportedly sacked the director of the hospital and its director of engineering and maintenance.
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In other news, Nigeria's electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), recently announced that its data processing centre in Kano state was gutted by fire.
The electoral body made the announcement via a statement by its spokesman, Festus Okoye, and seen by Legit.ng.
The statement was also posted on the Twitter page of the electoral commission on Monday, April 20.
Source: Legit.ng
