UPDATE 2 - Death toll from fire in COVID ward of Iraqi hospital rises to 41

UPDATES WITH MEETING OF PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTERS

By Haydar Karaalp and Mehmet Nuri Ucar

BAGHDAD (AA) - The number of people who were killed in a fire that engulfed the COVID-19 isolation ward of a hospital in southern Iraq has risen to 41, the Iraqi Health Ministry said early Tuesday.

Five more people lost their lives in the fire that broke out at Al-Hussein Hospital in Nasiriya city in Dhi Qar governorate, the ministry said in a statement.

The fire was caused by the misuse of oxygen cylinders, it added.

Local civil defense forces announced that firefighters had brought the blaze under control.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held an emergency meeting with some ministers and security officials to discuss the fire, according to a statement from the press office of the prime minister.

Following the meeting, Dhi Qar Governor Ahmed al-Khafaji issued a statement saying it was decided to form a high-level committee to investigate the exact cause of the fire and to present a final report to the public within 48 hours.

A state of mourning has been declared in Dhi Qar governorate for those who lost their lives in the fire and official working hours were suspended for three days from Tuesday.

A previous statement said that five others were injured in the fire.

Earlier Monday, a fire broke out on the fourth floor of the Ministry of Health in central Baghdad.