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Dozens killed as fire sweeps through hospital coronavirus ward in Iraq

A fire has swept through a coronavirus ward in southern Iraq, killing at least 50 people and injuring dozens more.

The report said all those who died suffered severe burns in the fire at the al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in the southern city of Nasiryah.

The new ward, opened three months ago, contained 70 beds, said hospital officials.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known but initial reports suggest it began after an oxygen tank exploded.

Ammar al-Zamili, spokesman for the Dhi Qar health department, told local media there were at least 63 patients inside the ward when the fire began.

Khalid Bohan, head of Iraq’s civil defense, said in comments to the press that the building was constructed from flammable materials and prone to fire.

That incident brought to light widespread negligence and systemic mismanagement in Iraq’s hospitals. Doctors have decried lax safety rules, especially around oxygen cylinders.

Iraq is in the midst of another severe Covid-19 wave. Daily coronavirus rates peaked last week at 9,000 new cases.

It is the second time a large fire has killed coronavirus patients in an Iraqi hospital this year.

At least 82 people died at Ibn al-Khateeb hospital in Baghdad in April when an oxygen tank exploded, sparking the blaze.