The regional rescue service office told Iraqi media that fireworks led to a fire inside the wedding hall, trapping over 700 guests and causing part of the hall’s ceiling to collapse.

Mosul: A fire that raced through a hall hosting a Christian wedding in northern Iraq killed at least 100 people and injured 150 others, authorities said Wednesday, warning the death toll could rise higher. The fire ripped through a large events hall in the north-eastern region after fireworks were lit during the celebration, local civil defence said, according to state media.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the blaze. The regional rescue service office told Iraqi media that fireworks led to a fire inside the wedding hall, trapping over 700 guests and causing part of the hall’s ceiling to collapse.

Television footage showed flames rushing over the wedding hall as the fire took hold. In the blaze’s aftermath, only charred metal and debris could be seen as people walked through the scene of the fire, the only light coming from television cameras and the lights of onlookers’ mobile phones.

Iraq wedding fire video

Video shows the aftermath of the fire in a wedding hall in Hamdaniyah

110 dead including bride and groom

550 injured #Iraq #Hamdaniyah #Fire pic.twitter.com/2duD5vmoks

— North X (@__NorthX) September 27, 2023

Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr gave the casualty figure via the state-run Iraqi News Agency. “All efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate accident,” al-Badr said.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the fire and asked the country’s Interior and Health officials to provide relief, his office said in a statement online.