BAGHDAD – More than 60 people died after a fire in a coronavirus disease 2019 isolation ward at a hospital in the city of Nasiriya.
Much of Iraq’s health care system is in poor condition after years of conflict and angry relatives of the victims have been protesting outside the facility.
The cause of the fire at the al-Hussein hospital is unclear, but reports said it began after an oxygen tank exploded.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered the arrest of the head of the hospital.
State media put the death toll at 64, with nearly 70 others injured.(BBC)
