AL NASIRIYAH: At least 52 people died and 22 were wounded when a massive fire engulfed the coronavirus isolation ward of an Iraqi hospital on Monday, a health official said. The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah late Monday and was brought under control by local civil defense forces. People gather as a massive fire engulfs the coronavirus isolation ward of Al-Hussein hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, late on July 12, 2021. AFP PHOTOHaydar al-Zamili, the local health authority's spokesman, said early Tuesday 52 bodies were retrieved and another 22 people were wounded in the latest toll, after the fire had "ripped through the Covid isolation ward." The deadly hospital blaze is the second such fire in Iraq in three months.

Source: Manila Times July 13, 2021 06:22 UTC