HAMDANIYA, Iraq - The families of those people who were burned to death during a tragic incident in Hamdaniya district mourn the deaths of their loved ones. Some families have lost most of their members. Maryos, 6, attended the wake of his parents and siblings without realizing what had happened to them. His father Ayman Ziyad, mother Rita Khizir, his brother Marsel and his sister Malak were among over 100 people who died when a wedding hall in the Christian-majority district of Hamdaniya caught fire on Tuesday. “His father asked him to leave [the hall] and said that he would bring his other brother. He entered [the hall] but did not return. The mother, sister and none were able to leave [the hall]. We went to see them but all were dead,” Stevan Abosh, brother of Ayman Ziyad, told Rudaw. Only a couple of blocks away from this wake there was another wake. Another family had a similar story. Only three members of a 12-member family survived the tragedy. They have to do DNA tests to identify the dead bodies of the dead members of the family. “They are missing. They are going to do DNA tests to identify the dead bodies. Is this possible? No. The main cause behind [the incident] is the owner of Haytham hall and our government,” Mado Nur, resident of Hamdaniya, said. The incident has drawn international attention. The injured do not feel the pain of their wounds as they are overwhelmed by the tragic loss of their beloved ones. The Iraqi and Kurdish governments have announced a three-day mourning over the incident.
