Baghdad hospital fire kills dozens of Covid patients+ video

The fire at the Ibn Khatib hospital in the Iraqi capital was sparked by an accident that caused an oxygen tank to explode, according to medical sources cited by the Reuters news agency and AFP, Aljazeera reported.

The flames spread quickly, according to civil defense officials, as “the hospital had no fire protection system and false ceilings allowed the flames to spread to highly flammable products.”

Major General Kadhim Bohanm, the head of the Iraqi civil defense unit, said that 90 of a total of 120 patients and relatives had been rescued, state news agency INA quoted him as saying.

The fire has been put out, he added.