In Kut, eastern Iraq, a devastating fire at the recently opened Corniche Hypermarket Mall has killed at least 61 people and left 11 more unaccounted for. Just five days had passed since the five-story structure, which housed a restaurant and supermarket, opened.

The interior ministry of Iraq reports that 14 bodies were completely burned and that the majority of victims suffocated to death, with many of them trapped in restrooms. Five of his relatives perished in an elevator, according to one witness.

According to reports, the fire started on the first floor and quickly spread throughout the structure. According to preliminary reports, the fire may have been started by an air conditioner explosion, though the precise cause is still being investigated.

More than forty-five people were rescued from the burning building by civil defense teams. It is regarded as one of the deadliest tragedies to hit Iraq in recent memory.

According to Dr. Nasir al-Quraishi, who lost five family members, they went to the mall to avoid power outages. “We were unable to flee when the fire broke out after an air conditioner on the second floor exploded,” he stated.

In addition to announcing legal action against the mall’s owner and contractor, Governor Miyahi proclaimed three days of mourning. He underlined the necessity of reevaluating safety regulations nationwide.

To find shortcomings and stop tragedies in the future, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a comprehensive investigation.

In Iraq, fires brought on by inadequate safety regulations are not unusual. Public outrage was stoked by the deaths of more than 60 people in a hospital COVID-19 unit fire in 2021 and more than 100 people in a wedding hall fire in 2023.