Fire at mall in Iraq leaves at least 69 dead, officials say
A fire truck stands next to the wreckage of a five-storey shopping center, after a massive overnight fire killed dozens of people, in al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) -A massive fire in a hypermarket in al-Kut city in eastern Iraq has left at least 69 people dead and 11 others missing, the city's health authorities and two police sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Military personnel members sit in a vehicle near the wreckage of a shopping center, after a massive overnight fire killed dozens of people, in al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Reuters' footage of the aftermath of the overnight fire showed the blackened exterior of "Corniche Hypermarket" building, with rescue teams and security forces still at the site.
Fire trucks stand next to the wreckage of a shopping center, after a massive overnight fire killed dozens of people, in al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Videos verified by Reuters showed firefighters spraying water on the blazing building overnight and people climbing from the roof with the help of rescue teams.
"We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris," city official Ali al-Mayahi told Reuters.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the province's governor said initial results from an investigation would be announced within 48 hours, the INA state news agency reported.
"We have filed lawsuits against the owner of the building and the mall," INA quoted the governor as saying.
A lack of safety measures in Iraq has led to large death tolls in fires. In 2023, more than 100 people were killed after a fire swept through a crowded wedding hall in a northern Iraqi town.
(Reporting by Aref Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Additional reporting by Mahezabin Yesdhani Syed; Writing by Nayera Abdallah in Dubai; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Ros Russell)
