Over 100 people dead and more than 200 injured after horror fire at Iraq wedding

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Over 100 people have died and more than 200 are injured after a horror fire at a wedding venue in Iraq.The inferno ravaged the venue in the country's Nineveh province at around 10.45pm local time (8.45pm BST) on Tuesday evening.So far, 114 people have been confirmed dead and authorities fear the death toll could rise, with the Iraqi Red Crescent believing as many 450 people could have perished.

Unconfirmed reports suggest the bride, the groom and his family are among the victims, the Mirror reports. Harrowing images shared on social media show wedding guests running for their lives as balls of fire rain down into the reception room while other photographs show thick smoke billowing from the building in the Al-Hamdaniya district.One woman who escaped the flames at the Christian wedding was guest Imad Yohana, 34.

She said: “We saw the fire pulsating, coming out of the hall. Those who managed got out and those who didn’t got stuck. Even those who made their way out were broken."Terrifying footage shows celebrating guests fleeing as flaming material falls onto the dance floor.

In further clips, firefighters can be seen searching for survivors in the charred wreckage. The cause of the fire has not been confirmed by authorities but the Kurdish television news channel Rudaw suggested fireworks at the venue may have sparked the fire.Footage aired by Rudaw, apparently shot by a guest, showed fireworks shooting up from the floor and setting a chandelier overhead ablaze.Ahmed Dubardani, a health official in the province, told Rudaw that many of those injured suffered serious burns. "The majority of them were completely burned and some others had 50 to 60% of their bodies burned," he said."This is not good at all.