A massive fire in a hypermarket in al-Kut city in eastern Iraq has claimed the lives of 60 people and 11 others are missing, the city’s health officials and police say.
In a viral video circulating on social media, flames are shown engulfing a five-story building in Al-Kut overnight as firefighters battle to contain the blaze.
A city official told the media, “We have compiled a list of 59 victims whose identities have been confirmed, but one body was so badly burnt that it has been extremely difficult to identify.”
According to city official Ali al-Mayahi, “We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris.”
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The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The state news agency (INA) reported the province’s governor said initial results from an investigation would be announced within 48 hours.
“We have filed lawsuits against the owner of the building and the mall,” INA quoted the governor as saying.
