ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government on Thursday ordered an investigation into a fire at a shopping mall in Wasit province that killed 63 people and promised compensation for victims. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Thursday ordered relevant authorities to “not show lenience with any negligent party. The measures taken must fit the scale of the incident,” as he announced the start of what he called practical steps in response to the Kornish Hypermarket fire in Kut, the capital city of Wasit. The five-story building, spanning about 350 square meters, went up in flames on Wednesday night. The fire started on the building’s second floor, where perfume and cosmetic stores were located, Iraq’s civil defense spokesperson Nawas Sabah Shakir told Rudaw. “Preliminary findings show that the perfumes contributed to the rapid spread of the fire,” he said, noting that most of the victims were on the third, fourth and fifth floors, where they were trapped with no exit route. Most deaths were caused by smoke inhalation. One of the victims was a child and another was a foreign national, Wasit health authorities said. Forty-five people were rescued from the upper floors, according to civil defense teams. Shakir said there were a number of safety violations in the building. The Iraqi Council of Ministers, in an extraordinary meeting, ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the fire and identify those responsible for negligence. The committee has been given five days to complete its report and present recommendations to the cabinet. The government agreed to provide 10 million dinars (around $7,600) in compensation for the family of each victim. The health ministry was also instructed to cover medical treatment for the injured, both inside and outside the country. In a broader legal move, the cabinet approved a draft law to expand compensation for victims of multiple recent disasters. The new draft, which will be submitted to parliament, would cover victims of the Kornish fire in Kut along with other tragedies such as the fire in Nineveh’s Hamdaniya district in 2023, when more than 130 people died in a wedding hall. It is intended to replace an earlier version of the law that did not include the Kut victims. Separate investigation committees have also been launched by the civil defense directorate, the Wasit provincial government, and the federal integrity commission. Wasit Governor Mohammed Jamil al-Mayahi accused the hypermarket owner of bypassing regulations and opening the business illegally just two days before the fire. “The investor opened the project fraudulently, without obtaining any official permits,” he told reporters in a press conference on Thursday. Wasit Provincial Council on Thursday held a special session and voted to temporarily suspend the directors of Kut municipality and the occupational safety department pending the outcome of investigations. The council also decided to classify those killed in the fire as “martyrs,” a status that typically allows families access to further compensation and social benefits.
