At least 92 people have lost their lives and more than 100 have been injured in a fire that broke out in a Covid isolation ward at a hospital in Iraq's Nasiriyah city, as per latest reports. It was the second such fire reported from a hospital in the country in the last three months.
The fire started at southern Iraq's al-Hussain hospital after sparks in faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank in the Covid ward and later exploded.
An investigation has been ordered into the incident and arrest warrants have been issued for as many as 13 people. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has called for national mourning and has blamed corruption in the system for the fire.
As many as 82 people had died and more than 110 had sustained injuries in a similar explosion at a hospital in Baghdad in April this year.