It was a heart-wrenching tragedy that defies words. In Iraq’s Nineveh province, a wedding day meant to be filled with joy turned into a horrifying nightmare, leaving indelible scars.
A devastating fire tore through the wedding hall, where a Christian wedding was being celebrated, claiming the lives of over 100 people and injuring 150 more. The tragic incident unfolded in the Hamdaniya area, just outside Mosul, a predominantly Christian region located about 335 kilometers northwest of Baghdad.
The fire’s cause appears to have been fireworks used at the venue, turning what should have been a joyous occasion into a somber and mournful aftermath.
Survivors and the bridegroom himself, amidst their grief, shared harrowing accounts of the tragedy. A drummer who was present at the scene recounted the horror, explaining that the fire spread rapidly within the hall filled with flowers and sponge-like materials.
He described the chaos that ensued when the hall’s two main doors became obscured by smoke and darkness due to a power outage. With around 1,000 people trapped inside, the situation became dire as they struggled to escape. The ceiling collapsed, further trapping people, and the ensuing panic led to suffocation and chaos.
Videos of the fire have surfaced on social media, some showing the bride and groom joyfully dancing before the flames consumed the hall. In the aftermath, the grief-stricken bridegroom sought solace from a friend, surrounded by mourners grappling with the magnitude of the loss.