A massive fire at a newly opened shopping mall in eastern Iraq killed at least 69 people on Wednesday night, July 16, making it one of the deadliest building fires in the country’s recent history. The blaze tore through the five-story Corniche Hypermarket Mall in the city of Kut, located in Wasit province, approximately 100 miles southeast of Baghdad.
The Interior Ministry confirmed that at least 69 people died in the fire, with most victims succumbing to smoke inhalation while trapped in bathrooms throughout the building. Among the casualties were 14 severely burned bodies that remained unidentified as of Thursday morning. The death toll includes men, women and children, with entire families reported among the victims.
Civil defense teams managed to rescue more than 45 people who became trapped inside the burning structure during the late Wednesday blaze. Emergency responders worked through dense smoke and debris for hours to recover bodies and search for survivors. Video footage showed people being helped through small windows by rescue workers, while other clips captured individuals stranded on the rooftop as firefighters battled the flames below.
The shopping center had opened just seven days before the fire occurred. The building housed not only retail stores but also a restaurant and hypermarket. Initial police reports suggested the fire may have started on the floor where perfumes and cosmetics were sold, though the exact cause remains under investigation.
Provincial Governor Mohammed al-Miyahi declared three days of mourning for the victims and announced that legal cases had been filed against both the building owner and mall operator. The governor indicated that preliminary investigation results would be released within 48 hours. “We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient,” al-Miyahi said regarding those responsible for the incident.
Local residents and officials have raised serious concerns about the building’s fire safety measures. Al-Miyahi told reporters that the building owner had failed to implement necessary fire safety protocols when converting the structure into a shopping center. Community members described the absence of proper emergency exit stairways and inadequate fire suppression systems.
One witness, Dr. Nasir al-Quraishi, lost five family members in the blaze. He reported that an air conditioner exploded on the second floor, sparking the fire that quickly spread throughout the building. Another resident, Abdul Redha Thahab, described losing his neighbor’s entire family of six people and noted that local residents had to assist firefighters because there were insufficient fire trucks to control the blaze quickly.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visited the fire scene on Thursday and ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the disaster. He directed the Interior Minister to identify all shortcomings and implement strict measures to prevent similar incidents. The Prime Minister also requested that a fully equipped medical team be deployed to support ongoing rescue efforts.
Interior Minister Abdul Amir Al-Shammari announced the formation of a high-level investigative committee tasked with identifying all points of failure and responsibility. The committee will hold accountable any party found negligent in the tragedy. Search and recovery operations continued Thursday morning as authorities worked to locate additional victims and determine the full extent of the casualties.
This incident represents the latest in a series of deadly fires that have plagued Iraq in recent years, often attributed to poor building standards and inadequate safety enforcement. In September 2023, a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya killed more than 100 people when ceiling panels above pyrotechnic equipment ignited.
The country has struggled with building safety regulations following decades of conflict and reconstruction challenges. A July 2021 fire at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad claimed more than 80 lives when oxygen tanks exploded in a COVID-19 isolation ward. Another hospital fire in Nasiriyah that same year killed between 60 and 92 people, later determined to have been fueled by illegal, highly flammable sandwich panel cladding.
Ambulances continued transporting casualties to local hospitals as late as 4 a.m. Thursday morning. The Wasit community has been devastated by the loss, with many families still searching for missing relatives and awaiting official identification of victims. The tragedy has renewed calls for stricter enforcement of building safety standards and fire prevention measures across Iraq’s commercial and public buildings.
