“We were suffocating and didn’t know how to get out”: guests spoke about the terror experienced during a wedding fire in Iraq

Guests at a wedding fire in Iraq that killed 114 people and injured more than 200 have described the moments of panic they felt as flames engulfed the party hall. Among the dead are the bride and groom, the newspaper reports. Daily mail.

According to the newspaper The keeper, The fire alarm was sounded around 10:45 p.m. local time while hundreds of guests were inside the premises. Videos of the moment the flames climb the walls of the room and reach the ceiling are circulating on social networks. Chaos ensued, and when everyone tried to escape, some people were crushed by others.

Some survivors say they were trapped in the burning hall because they could not see through the black smoke. “We didn’t see anything. We were suffocating and didn’t know how to get out,” said 17-year-old Rania Vaad. The girl received a burn on her hand.

“We saw the fire pulsating and coming out of the room,” said Imad Yohana, a 34-year-old guest who escaped the flames. “Even those who managed to get out were devastated,” he adds.

In accordance with The keeper, with reference to local authorities, Most reported injuries resulted from “burns and suffocation.”

“Some others had 50 to 60% of their bodies burned. This is not good. Most of them were not in good condition,” says Ahmed Dubardani, one of the participants in the rescue work.

The party room was completely destroyed and relief efforts are still ongoing at the site.

In a brief statement quoted by the British press, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani called on the health and interior ministers to “mobilize all rescue efforts” to help the fire victims and announced the opening of an investigation.