Iraq’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that 82 people died and 110 were injured in a catastrophic fire that broke out in the intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital tending to severe coronavirus patients. Negligence on the part of hospital authorities has been blamed for the Saturday night fire, which initial reports suggest was caused when an oxygen cylinder exploded in the ward of Ibn al-Khatib hospital. Iraq’s prime minister fired key hospital officials hours after the catastrophic incident. Among the dead were at least 28 patients on ventilators battling severe symptoms of the virus, tweeted Ali al-Bayati, a spokesman of the country’s independent Human Rights Commission. The commission is a semi-official body. Also read: 5 dead in fire at India's Covid vaccine facility Firefighters rushed to battle the flames that raged across the second floor of the hospital. Civil defense teams put out flames until the early hours of the morning. Ambulances transported dozens of wounded. The Health Ministry said at least 200 people were rescued from the scene. Doctors at the scene were frazzled by the chaos unfolding around them. They said numerous burned bodies were carried out by paramedics from the hospital floor. The fire came as Iraq grapples with a severe second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Daily virus cases now average around 8,000, the highest since Iraq began recording infection rates early last year. At least 15,200 people have died of coronavirus in Iraq among a total of at least 100,000 confirmed cases. In response to the fire, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi fired the director-general of the Baghdad Health Department in the al-Rusafa area, where the hospital is located. He also fired the director of Ibh al-Khatib Hospital and its director of engineering and maintenance, according to a statement from the Health Ministry and his office. After the fire first broke out, Al-Khadhimi held an emergency meeting at the headquarters of the Baghdad Operations Command, which coordinates Iraqi security forces, according to a statement on his Twitter account. In the meeting he said the incident amounted to negligence. “Negligence in such matters is not a mistake, but a crime for which all negligent parties must bear responsibility,” he said. He gave Iraqi authorities 24 hours to present the results of an investigation. Also read:  Oxygen tank leak claims 22 lives in India Covid hospital U.N. envoy to Iraq Jeannine Hennis-Plasschaert expressed “shock and pain” over the incident in a statement and called for stronger protection measures in hospitals.

  A fire broke out in a Baghdad hospital that cares for coronavirus patients after oxygen cylinders reportedly exploded late Saturday, officials said. There were initial reports of 15 people dead. Firefighters rushed to put out the flames and clear out patients at the Ibn al-Khatib hospital, which provides care for severe coronavirus patients in its intensive care unit. “I don’t know how many victims there are, there are so many burned bodies all over the place,” said Dr. Sabah al-Kuzaie, present at the scene. Initial reports showed at least 36 people wounded in addition to the 15 dead, according to medical and security officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Iraqi authorities have not released to an official casualty count. Also read: Oxygen tank leak claims 22 lives in India Covid hospital There were at least 120 patients in the hospital at the time of the fire, a doctor at the hospital said. The fire is believed to have been caused when at least one oxygen cylinder exploded inside the hospital, local media reported. At least two doctors at the scene confirmed they believed the oxygen cylinder had caused the flamed that raged in the second floor of the hospital. Also read: 5 dead in fire at India's Covid vaccine facility Iraq is in the midst of a severe COVID-19 wave. Daily coronavirus rates now average above 8,000 new cases, the highest since the pandemic broke out in the country last year. The government is urging the public to get vaccinated, but demand has been low due to widespread mistrust of the health care system and the vaccines in particular.