A devastating fire swept through a recently opened shopping center in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut on Wednesday night, July 16, claiming at least 69 lives and leaving 11 people unaccounted for, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry. The flames consumed the five-story Corniche Hypermarket, which had opened just days before.
The blaze erupted late Wednesday in Kut, roughly 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad in Wasit province. The majority of victims died from suffocation as thick smoke choked the building. Fourteen victims were so badly burned that they remain unidentified and will require DNA analysis for confirmation.
Civil defense crews managed to rescue more than 45 individuals trapped inside the hypermarket. However, ambulances were still transporting the injured to nearby hospitals as late as 4:00 a.m. Thursday, and several people were still missing according to state media.
Preliminary police findings suggest the fire started on the second floor in the section selling perfumes and cosmetics, though the exact cause remains undetermined. A survivor recounted to news agencies that an air conditioner exploded on the second floor, quickly spreading the fire throughout the building.
Social media videos captured the structure fully ablaze, with firefighters attempting to reach people stranded on the roof. The footage showed individuals trapped on upper floors while emergency workers assisted them through narrow windows.
Provincial Governor Mohammed al-Miyahi announced three days of mourning and stated that legal proceedings had begun against both the owner of the building and the mall, though he did not detail the specific charges. Al-Miyahi said the building owner failed to install required fire safety measures while converting the property into a mall.
He called the incident “a heartbreaking tragedy for the people of Wasit” and promised affected families that authorities would hold those responsible fully accountable.
Several families suffered multiple losses in the tragedy. Dr. Nasir al-Quraishi, in his 50s, lost five relatives in the fire. He shared that his family had visited the mall for dinner to escape power outages at home when the fire broke out.
Another resident, Ali Kadhim, spent hours searching hospitals and the mall site for his cousin, the cousin’s wife, and their three children. On Thursday morning, Moataz Karim identified the remains of two relatives, one of whom had just started working at the mall three days earlier.
According to the Interior Ministry, most of the victims were found in restrooms, where they apparently tried to shelter from the smoke and flames. The ministry also noted that the building included, in addition to the hypermarket, a restaurant and a supermarket.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visited the site on Thursday morning, ordering an immediate investigation into potential lapses in fire safety. He instructed the interior minister to assess the situation and implement steps to prevent future disasters.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity launched its own investigation. A field team reported that the five-story mall lacked a fire suppression system and had no emergency exits. The team also cited the Civil Defense Directorate for failing to enforce fire safety requirements when the mall opened.
This disaster is part of a troubling pattern of fatal fires in Iraq, often stemming from poor construction quality and weak enforcement of safety regulations. In September 2023, a fire at a northern Iraq wedding hall killed over 100 people. In July 2021, an explosion of oxygen cylinders in a COVID-19 ward in Nasiriyah led to a hospital fire that killed more than 60 people.
The 2021 hospital tragedy was made worse by the use of highly flammable sandwich panel cladding, which is banned in Iraq. The 2023 wedding hall incident occurred when ceiling panels caught fire above a pyrotechnics machine, triggering a chaotic rush for the exits.
Construction projects in Iraq often ignore basic safety standards, a problem fueled by decades of mismanagement and corruption. Years of conflict have left much of the country’s infrastructure in poor condition, and deadly fires and accidents are especially common during the sweltering summer months, when temperatures can reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
Most of those lost in the Kut fire were laid to rest in Najaf, a holy city about 150 kilometers southwest of Kut. Hospitals struggled to cope with the influx of casualties, and anxious families gathered outside the forensic department, desperate for news about their loved ones.
Several countries, including Egypt, Iran, and France, offered condolences to Iraq and the bereaved families. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad also extended its deepest sympathies to the victims’ families and loved ones.