ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two children were burned after a gas tank exploded in Duhok city on Thursday. It is not clear what triggered the fire, according to a local official. Bewar Abdulaziz, spokesperson for Duhok civil defense directorate, told reporters that two brothers, aged eight and nine years old, were burned after their gas tank exploded. One of them had 90 percent of his body burned and is in a critical condition. “The tank’s capacity was 1,400 liters of gas but it was not full when the blast took place,” the spokesperson said. According to initial reports, the tank was located on the roof of the house. Nearly 1,500 fires have been reported in Duhok province this year, with the wildfire making up the majority of them, according to data from the directorate. A deadly gas explosion in Sulaimani that took the lives of 15 people in 2022 triggered the Kurdistan Regional Government to introduce stricter safety measures for the installation of gas tanks. Fires are a perennial concern in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. They are especially frequent in the summertime, with the scorching summer heat increasing fire risks. Safety standards also are often ignored in the country, as buildings lack adequate fire extinguishers, evacuation routes, and emergency exits.
