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A FIRE THAT ravaged a Covid-19 hospital in the Iraqi capital killed 82 people and sparked angry calls for the sacking of officials, in a country with long-dilapidated health infrastructure.
The blaze at Baghdad’s Ibn al-Khatib hospital started with an explosion caused by “a fault in the storage of oxygen cylinders”, medical sources told AFP.
Officials announced today that the death toll had climbed from 58 to 82. A further 110 people suffered injuries.
Flames spread quickly across multiple floors in the middle of the night, as dozens of relatives were at the bedsides of the 30 patients in the hospital’s intensive care unit where most severe Covid-19 cases are treated, a medical source said.
“The hospital had no fire protection system and false ceilings allowed the flames to spread to highly flammable products,” the civil defence said.
“The majority of the victims died because they had to be moved and were taken off ventilators, while the others were suffocated by the smoke,” it added.
Videos on social media showed firefighters battling to put out the blaze as patients and their relatives tried to flee the building.
“It was the people who got the wounded out,” Amir, 35, told AFP, saying he saved his hospitalised brothers “by the skin of his teeth”.
Iraq’s hospitals have been worn down by decades of conflict and poor investment, with shortages in medicines and hospital beds.
The incident sparked outrage on social media and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Khademi called for an investigation into the cause of the blaze, and declared three days of national mourning.
Negligence
After daybreak, dozens of tall oxygen cylinders that had been evacuated could be seen lined up outside the building, alongside gurneys and scattered debris, an AFP photograph said.
More than 200 patients in all were rescued, according to the health ministry, which pledged to release an official toll of the dead and wounded later.
The fire – which according to several sources was caused by negligence often linked to endemic corruption in Iraq – sparked anger on social media, with a hashtag demanding the health minister be sacked trending on Twitter.
Baghdad Governor Mohammed Jaber called on the health ministry “to establish a commission of enquiry so that those who did not do their jobs may be brought to justice”.
In a statement, the government’s human rights commission said the incident was “a crime against patients exhausted by Covid-19 who put their lives in the hands of the health ministry and its institutions and instead of being treated, perished in flames”.
The commission called on the prime minister to fire Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi and “bring him to justice”.
Kadhemi responded by calling for “an investigation” – echoing President Barham Saleh and parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi – and said he wanted results “within 24 hours”.
The prime minister also suspended the health director for the eastern sector of Baghdad and the head of Ibn al-Khatib, as well as the hospital’s heads of security and technical maintenance teams.
They are being questioned and nobody, Kadhemi said, will be released “until those who have done wrong are brought to justice”.
Mounting coronavirus cases
The UN top representative in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, expressed “shock” at the tragedy and called “for stronger protection measures to ensure that such a disaster cannot reoccur”.
On Wednesday, the number of Covid-19 cases in Iraq surpassed one million, the highest of any Arab state.
The health ministry has recorded more than 15,000 deaths since the country’s first infections were reported in February 2020, and has carried out around 40,000 tests daily from a population of 40 million.
Rather than go to overcrowded or run-down hospitals, patients who can afford it have often set up oxygen tanks for their use at home.
Iraq rolled out its vaccination campaign last month and has received nearly 650,000 doses of different vaccines – the majority by donation or through the Covax scheme.
Around 300,000 people had received at least one dose as of Wednesday, the ministry said.
Health authorities have faced an uphill battle to convince Iraqis to get vaccinated, in the face of widespread scepticism over the jab and public reluctance to wear masks since the start of the pandemic.
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One bit of advice for students. Don’t expect to get your deposit back. Landlords see this as their own personal money. Even when you leave the place in better condition than you moved in they will still try and keep it. Factor the cost of deposit into the annual rent.
paddy lambe the landlord?
No Ciaran, just know from years of renting.
i never experienced any problems with deposit in galway or Dublin. 8 years renting but that’s not to ya it dosnt happen im just saying living in these two areas we never had a problem
Well you just gotta be wise about it. Take photos at the outset of each room and email to landlord and ask him to agree that he is happy that it is present condition. Keep in contact with the association for rentees or whatever the name is.
You just need to cover your ass.
I plan on not paying the last months rent when I move out. They can use my deposit for that.
And don’t expect any real or at least swift help from the PRTB. They’re inundated and most cases take so long you give up out of frustration and hey presto the landlord wins and keeps your deposit. The law is still set up to be on the side of the landlord not the tenant.
I registered a dispute over a deposit with PRTB 18m mts ago and still havn’t heard anything. My landlord was not registered with the PRTB.
There shouldn’t be any shortage of accommodation – there’s plenty of lego for everyone!
Not all landlords will keep your deposit. Iv always got mine back. Also be wary of rent which includes your bills. In some cases it can work out more expensive.
Agree completely with Jenna about the law being on their side. The PRTB should be tasked with holding deposits. If there is a dispute over a deposit then the landlord has to bring a case to them and visa versa. It should be made illegal for a landlord to take a deposit and hold it themselves.
In general I’ve always gotten my deposit back. I’m an excellent tenant and have lived with similar people. But it was that one landlord who showed the system up for what it was. We reported him to Daft.ie, when he hiked the rent for a second year in a row, without fixing or addressing anything in the house, we said we’d leave, he then loaded fake pics on the site. And when people came to view he feigned surprise at the things that were amiss claiming we’d never highlighted them to him. He was unbelievable – a caricature of the archetypal evil landlord. He laughed when we cited the PRTB. I hope he got his cumuppence when the property bubble burst. I wish there was a ‘Rate my landlord’ website.
Da Ptrb’s staff was almost halved in da past few years meaning disputes take nearly two years before there seen. Would agree that there should be a deposit retention scheme in place but logitically it would be a non runner plus landlords have it so easy at the moment there’d be a revoltultion if the government tried to put it in place. Landlords and property management companies see student deposits as easy money…
have your say