At least 63 people have been confirmed dead and dozens injured after a massive fire ripped through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut late Wednesday night, according to local authorities.
The blaze engulfed the five-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall, just days after its grand opening, trapping shoppers and staff in one of Iraq’s deadliest commercial fires in recent years.
More than 40 people were also reported injured, while rescue teams managed to pull at least 45 survivors from the burning structure.
Emergency responders said the majority of the victims died from smoke inhalation, with some found suffocated in bathrooms while trying to escape the flames. One distraught survivor told AFP that five of his relatives died inside an elevator during the chaos.
“I’ve been searching between the hospital and the mall all night,” said Ali Kadhim, 51, who is desperately looking for his cousin, his wife, and their three children. “No word yet—no bodies identified. I don’t know if they’re alive or gone.”
The fire reportedly started on the first floor, rapidly consuming the rest of the building. Though the exact cause is still under investigation, initial reports from witnesses suggest that an exploding air conditioning unit may have triggered the inferno.
Iraq’s Civil Defence Directorate confirmed that the mall housed a supermarket and a restaurant, making it a popular destination for families. Wasit provincial governor Mohammed al-Miyahi confirmed that the victims included men, women, and children, further deepening the national mourning.
At the main hospital in Kut, scenes of anguish unfolded as families crowded the emergency ward and morgue.
According to a medical source, many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Grieving relatives were seen collapsing outside the forensic department as they waited for news.
The tragedy has once again drawn attention to Iraq’s chronic safety failures and lack of enforcement of fire safety regulations, particularly in public and commercial spaces.
Similar incidents in recent years have raised alarms but brought little sustained reform.
