KUT, IRAQ – A catastrophic fire has engulfed a newly opened five-story shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut, killing at least 61 people, including women and children, in one of the deadliest such disasters in the country's recent history. The blaze, which broke out late Wednesday night, has left the community in a state of shock and mourning.
The inferno ripped through the "Hyper Mall," a large shopping center that had opened its doors to the public only a week prior. According to Iraq's Interior Ministry, most of the victims died from smoke inhalation, with rescue teams making the grim discovery of many bodies inside the building's bathrooms, where they had apparently sought refuge from the rapidly spreading flames and thick, toxic smoke.
Officials reported that among the deceased were 14 bodies burned so severely that they could not be immediately identified. As firefighters and civil defense teams worked through the night and into Thursday, harrowing scenes unfolded of a building completely consumed by fire. While emergency crews managed to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside, many others remain missing, and authorities fear the death toll could still rise as they continue to search the charred debris.
The provincial governor of Wasit, Mohammed al-Mayahi, described the event as "a tragedy and a calamity," immediately declaring three days of official mourning. He confirmed that lawsuits have been filed against both the owner of the building and the owner of the mall.
While the precise cause of the fire is still under formal investigation, with preliminary results expected within 48 hours, some reports suggest it may have started with an exploding air conditioning unit on one of the lower floors. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani has ordered a thorough probe into the incident to identify any safety shortcomings and has directed the Interior Minister to personally oversee the investigation at the site.
The tragedy has once again cast a harsh spotlight on the issue of inadequate safety standards and poor construction regulations in Iraq, a country whose infrastructure has been plagued by decades of conflict. In 2023, a similar tragedy occurred when a fire at a wedding hall killed more than 100 people, an event also blamed on a lack of basic safety measures.
