Baghdad building collapse injures at least 32 people


Sinan Mahmoud
  • English
  • Arabic

A multi-storey commercial building in Baghdad collapsed on Sunday after catching fire, injuring at least 32 people, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

Among those injured was the head of the Civil Defence Directorate, Maj Gen Kadhim Bohan, along with firefighters who were battling the blaze, the ministry said.

Late on Sunday, the directorate announced that the fire had been fully extinguished and first responders were searching for missing people at the scene.

No deaths were reported and no information was immediately available on the cause of the blaze.

The building in Baghdad’s northern neighbourhood of Waziriyah was used as a warehouse for oil-based perfumes, which caused the blaze to burn for hours.

Safety standards in building and other sectors are frequently flouted in Iraq, and accidents are common.

Widespread corruption and weak government monitoring are blamed for the lack of proper safety standards in many of Baghdad's neighbourhoods.

High-profile disasters in recent years included two hospital fires, in Baghdad and the southern city of Nasiriyah, leading to hundreds of deaths.

Both blazes were blamed on faulty electrical wiring and poor storage of highly flammable oxygen.

Late last month, a gas tanker exploded in a residential area of Baghdad, killing nine people. Thirteen were wounded in the explosion in the capital’s eastern Binok neighbourhood.

The government investigation blamed a “technical failure”.

Also in Baghdad, a multi-storey building collapsed early last month, killing a woman, her daughter, 2, and two men. Thirteen were wounded.

Officials blamed the owner for not obeying construction codes.

In August, seven people were killed after a landslide caused the partial collapse of a Shiite shrine outside the city of Karbala, south of Baghdad.

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Dates for the diary

To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:

  • September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
  • October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
  • October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
  • November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
  • December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
  • February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

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UAE

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Japan

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Norway

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Canada

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Singapore

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Australia

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Saudi Arabia

10.

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Updated: November 07, 2022, 5:30 AM`