The Tragic Wedding (Iraq)

For our Iraq coverage this week, we're reposting C.I.'s Sunday entry:

 

 

The tragic wedding celebration that ended with the hall engulfed in fire

This week saw a fire at an Iraqi wedding that left at least 100 people dead  (by Friday, the death toll had risen to 102 and by Friday night, NYT's Alissa J. Rubin notes, it had climbed to 119) with at least 150 more injured.  Though the wedding couple was initially reported dead on Wednesday, they actually survived.  And now Revan, and Haneen are plagued with survivor's guilt.  Friday, they attended funerals for Haneen's brother and her mother.  (Some reports spell the bride's name Hannen.)  In addition, her father was injured and remains hospitalized (critical condition).  The groom's home has been attacked and his car windows broken -- some have blamed him and Haneen for the fire.

 

Daniel DeWolfe (LBC) reports:

Haneen and Revan were initially feared dead following the blaze, which claimed the lives of 114 others.

Revan's father later confirmed the couple had survived the blaze, which tore through the large hall in the Christian town, which had survived ISIS occupation.

"It's true that we're sitting here in front of you alive. But inside we are dead. We are numb. We are dead inside," Revan told Sky News.

The horror inferno claimed the lives of 15 members of Revan's family, with the groom adding that his bride "can't speak" following the loss of 10 of her own relatives.

Hunar Rasheed (RUDAW) notes another family haunted by the fire:

The harrowing and tragic deaths of 22 people from one single family during the heartbreaking wedding inferno in Nineveh province's Hamdaniya town over the weekend has echoed across the country.

"This is my sister. This is my father. This is my mother. This is another sister of mine. This is my wife. She is missing," Fuad Silewa, a member of the family that lost 22 members in total, sighed while sobbing and holding their photographs. "I am grateful for God [on all occasions]."

He went on to introduce more family members who died of suffocation during the tragic inferno: "This is my brother's wife. Yesterday, I received [from health authorities] their dead and burned bodies. They have all died of suffocation. This sister had come back from abroad to change her atmosphere by visiting us. Thank you, God."

Over a hundred people lost their lives when a deadly fire engulfed a wedding hall in Hamdaniya after the roof’s flammable plastic ceiling caught fire when fireworks were ignited from the floor.

Naif Ramadhan (RUDAW) notes the dead includes a one-year-and-eight-month old girl named Marya Asaad whose father tried to carry her to safety but she died in his arms.  Her father states, "My daughter loved me more than anyone. She used to be very eager to see me when I returned from work. She would wait for me near the gate and give me my clothes although she was young."  Ayub Nasri (RUDAW) notes that 12-year-old Nazdin Khazwan also perished in the fire.  Nazdin was playing drums for the wedding.  After the roof caught fire and crashed in, Nazdin was not be found (there are over 30 corpses that have yet to be identified).  His father, Khazwan Sulaiman, states, "He told me that a fire had broken out. I looked at the stage and saw him burning. I asked him to leave [the hall]. He followed me to the exit. He told me ‘Come Daddy’ and I saw him running towards the kitchen door.  I saw him until he reached the kitchen door. Sulaiman was behind me and asked where Nazdin was. I told him that Nazdin had exited because he was in front of me and I saw him. We went out but did not find him."  Karwan Faidhi Dri (RUDAW) notes that an engaged couple, Steven and Maryam, had planned to marry next week at the same hall but cannot because Maryam perished in the fire.                                                                            

It should have been a beautiful event and a wonderful memory.  The building was fairly new (built in 2016).  Abeer Khan (AL ARABYIYA) explains that the hall lacked "sufficient emergency exits," as well as a sprinkler system and ample fire extinguishers.  Alissa J. Rubin (NEW YORK TIMES) reports on the study ordered by Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani:

The draft report from the investigation, ordered by Mr. Sudani, found that in addition to lacking emergency exits and sprinklers, the building had been constructed illegally on agricultural land — a common practice in Iraq as those who no longer farm seek to make money off their fallow acreage.

The report also said the building was made of a substance described by investigators as Ecobond board, which itself is not illegal, but its use must be approved on a case-by-case basis because certain types are highly flammable. It is known locally as sandwich board because it consists of two layers of metal with a synthetic filling between them.

The report found negligence by the owner of the hall — who was detained by the authorities on Wednesday — and his two partners; by the local province’s tourist commission because it had fined the owner for failing to meet fire safety requirements, but did not close the hall; by the mayor of Qaraqosh because he knew about the failings, but, the report said, did not do anything about them; and by other administrative units aware that the hall was illegally built but failed to take any action.

The Civil Defense Force responsible for the area, however, was not named in the initial report. Although the force is responsible for building safety and fire fighting, many residents were critical of its response, saying the authorities were slow to arrive at the scene and ill prepared.

For many people in the area, the fire and the report were painful reminders of the combination of corruption, weak governance and lack of accountability in Iraq.

Rubin did a feature article (a profile) of the prime minister ahead of his visit to New York last week.  That may have been why she was given an advance look at the report which is supposed to be issued in a few more hours (it's Sunday in Iraq already).