A catastrophic blaze at a newly inaugurated shopping centre in Kut, Wasit province, killed at least 61 people, Iraqi authorities confirmed on Thursday.
The fire erupted late Wednesday in the five-story complex, which housed a restaurant and supermarket alongside retail units, just one week after its opening. Most victims perished from suffocation, with 14 charred bodies remaining unidentified, according to the Interior Ministry’s statement.
Civil defence teams rescued over 45 individuals trapped within the engulfed structure.
Governor Mohammed al-Mayyeh declared three days of mourning while revealing criminal cases had been filed against the building and mall owners. Though the precise cause remains under investigation, al-Mayyeh vowed accountability:
We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident.
Preliminary findings are expected within 48 hours. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani dispatched the interior minister to Kut, ordering urgent measures to prevent future tragedies.
The disaster underscores Iraq’s persistent struggle with hazardous building standards. The incident echoes two earlier fires: a July 2021 hospital inferno in Nasiriyah, fuelled by illegal flammable cladding; and a September 2023 wedding hall fire in Hamdaniya, Nineveh province, where ceiling panels ignited above pyrotechnics, claiming over 100 lives.
