At least 100 people have died and 150 others injured after a fire broke out at a wedding in northern Iraq, state media has reported
It is not yet clear what caused the blaze, but early reports say it broke out after fireworks were lit
Photos on social media show charred-out remains of the event hall in Qaraqosh in Iraq's Nineveh province
The newly married couple are among the victims, according to the deputy head of the Nineveh health directorate
Meanwhile, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society said more than 450 were killed and injured from the fire
Flammable panels in the venue may have fuelled the flames, officials have said
We're ending our live coverage for now, but you can read more about the fire at a wedding party in northern Iraq which has killed more than 100 people.
To read the latest updates on the aftermath of the blaze at the wedding venue, click here.
Today's page was written by Emily Atkinson, Thomas Mackintosh, Frances Mao, Nicholas Yong and Derek Cai. It was edited by Yvette Tan and Emily McGarvey.
Image source, ReutersWe're pausing our live coverage shortly. Here's what we know so far:
One man who witnessed the blaze says he had more than 20 relatives at the wedding venue in Iraq when the fire broke out on Tuesday evening.
Speaking to the Iraqi Kurdish news agency Rudaw, he says entire families were killed in what he described as a "humanitarian catastrophe".
At around 22:30 local time, during a slow dance, a firework hit the roof of the venue setting it alight, he says.
"There were around 1,000 to 1,100 guests... The roof went on fire and it spread everywhere because it was all made of sandwich panels, vinyl sheets and fabric," he says.
"Everything caught fire and started falling on people’s heads. Nobody was able to get out.”
“I have a friend whose entire family died. He, his children, his mother, his wife, everyone. Many families died entirely."
People are coming forward to donate blood at a hospital in Mosul following a deadly blaze at a wedding venue in nearby Qaraqosh, footage shows.
At the main hospital in Qaraqosh, which is east of the region's capital Mosul, dozens of people also arrived to donate blood to help the injured.
Iraq fire: Volunteers donate blood at hospital in Mosul after wedding blaze
David Gritten
BBC News
Last night’s blaze ripped through al-Haitham Hall, which is located on the outskirts of the town of Qaraqosh.
Also known as Bakhdida, it is the main centre of al-Hamdaniya district and is about 15km (9 miles) south-east of the city of Mosul.
It was the biggest Christian town in Iraq - with a population of about 50,000, most of them Assyrians - before it was overrun by militants from the Sunni Muslim jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in 2014. Most residents fled, but those who refused or were unable to leave were issued an ultimatum by IS to pay a protection tax, convert to Islam or be killed.
IS militants committed many atrocities against the Christians who remained before they were driven out by Iraqi and US-led coalition forces in 2016. They also desecrated and torched the ancient Church of the Immaculate Conception - Iraq’s largest - and reportedly burned more than 2,000 homes to the ground.
About half of Qaraqosh’s residents are said to have returned since the town was liberated, and the Church of the Immaculate Conception was restored in time for a visit by Pope Frances in 2021. But many of the destroyed homes have yet to be rebuilt.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe number of Christians in Iraq today is estimated at around 150,000, compared to 1.5 million in 2003.
The northern region of Nineveh is home to many Iraqi Christians, a minority group in the country. The region, previously known as Ninua, is also mentioned in the Bible.
The past two decades have been violent for their historic homeland. It was targeted by extremists - first from Al Qaeda and later from the Islamic State militant group. It was only wrested back from the extremists six years ago.
Even then, some towns are still in varying states of disrepair, with many homes still uninhabited and basic services like water scarce. Many Christians have left for Europe, Australia or the United States.
Some media reports have said the couple held a Christian wedding, though this has not been confirmed.
It's estimated that there are around 150,000 Christians in Iraq, compared to 1.5 million a decade ago. Iraq has a total population of more than 40 million people.
Nine people who were employed at the wedding hall, where a fire killed over 100 people, have been arrested, according to an Iraqi official.
Major General Saad Maan, the director of the Department of Relations and Information in the Interior Ministry, says further arrest warrants were issued against four other employees.
He says the reasons for the tragedy were "the lack of health and safety measures, the flammable materials used in the building and apparently an indoor firework".
The Iraqi prime minister has declared three days of national mourning.
The number of dead is unconfirmed but earlier reports by news agency INA put the death toll at at least 100, with 150 people injured.
Image source, ReutersThe photo above shows the Haitham Hall in Qaraqosh where the fatal blaze broke out last night.
The predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh, also known as Al-Hamdaniya and Bakhdida, is located in Iraq's northern Nineveh province.
It is over 400km north of the capital Baghdad and is nestled in-between the cities of Mosul and Erbil.
Image source, .Mid morning is approaching in Iraq, where rescue workers are continuing to pick through the rubble following a wedding venue fire.
The blaze in Qaraqosh killed more than 100 people and injured 150 others. In the video below, emergency services are seen examining the scorched venue, strewn with debris.
You can watch the footage here:
Image source, ReutersMany of those who were injured have to be taken long distances for medical treatment - and some relatives have been left looking for family members missing after the fire.
Ayad Al-Qassab is one of them and is trying to track down his nephew's wife, Rawan, and their children Charbel and Ghazal, who were at the wedding party where the fire broke out.
"All three of them - we can’t find them," he says.
"We are looking in hospitals across Mosul and couldn’t find them. We’re looking in all hospitals - nothing."
He says his nephew "grabbed one of the children and ran out" of the wedding hall, and he described people falling over each other.
Lina Sinjab
Middle East Correspondent
A night of celebration turned into a nightmare.
Dozens of people were burned to death while attending a wedding in the predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh, in Nineveh, east of Mosul.
Reports suggest that fireworks set off inside the hall caused the blaze. Civil defence authorities said the hall had prefabricated panels that were highly flammable which possibly helped the spread of fire and the fall of part of the ceiling.
The Red Cross now says that they have counted 450 casualties but couldn‘t confirm the number of deaths. Officials say the number of dead has now reached 110.
Ambulances rushed to the location and firefighters tried to halt the spread of the flames. Survivors who reached hospital are being treated for burns and lack of oxygen.
The fate of bride and groom is still not clear.
In Iraq, where there is corruption, mismanagement and lack of accountability, these incidents are not so rare. There have been reports previously of violations of construction and safety standards in Iraq causing loss of life.
We've been hearing from a local Iraqi journalist in the nearby city of Erbil - where some of the victims are being treated.
Blesa Shaways says one of the main reasons for the high numbers of the victims is that there is not sufficient "logistical tools to rescue the people".
"That's why even after rescuing some of the victims, most of the victims have been transferred to the regional hospitals such as the hospital in Erbil which is much better than the hospital in other cities in Iraq and it's near to Mosul, near to Hamdaniyah town," he tells the BBC.
Blesa says victims are suffering from burns and are in a "bad situation", but she says hospitals in Mosul do not have enough ambulances, staff and medical equipment.
"Local officials of Mosul, they all blame the Iraqi government because they didn't solve the problem of hospitals, and generally, the problem of health sector in Mosul after the ISIS (Islamic State group) occupation of city," he adds.
Investigators in northern Iraq are trying to establish the exact cause of a fire at a wedding party that killed more than 100 people.
Iraqi civil defence officials say initial findings suggest fireworks were lit during the celebration inside a hall in the Qaraqosh district.
Watch below as emergency services carry out rescue and salvage work in Qaraqosh.
The UN Assitance Mission for Iraq said on X, formerly Twitter, external, that they are "shocked and hurt" by the huge loss of life and injuries in the fire.
"Huge tragedy. Our sincere condolences to the families who lost loved ones. We wish those injured a speedy recovery," the post read.
Photos are emerging that show the damage left behind by the wedding fire in Qaraqosh in Iraq's northern Nineveh province. More than 100 people have reportedly died in the blaze.
Image source, ReutersHundreds of people were celebrating when a fire tore through a wedding venue late on Tuesday evening
Image source, ReutersAt least 100 people have died and 150 others were injured in the blaze
Image source, Getty ImagesThe cause of the fire is not yet known, but some reports suggest it broke out after fireworks were lit
Image source, Getty ImagesFlammable panels in the venue may have fuelled the flames, reports say
The exterior of the wedding hall that went up in flames was found to have been covered in cladding that is highly combustible and illegal in the country, the Iraqi News Agency reports.
Cladding is a layer of protection from extreme heat or cold that is applied on the external surface of buildings. It can also be used for aesthetic purposes.
A type of cladding that uses metal composite and unmodified polyethylene was blamed for the quick spread of a fire that razed London's Grenfell Tower in 2017, killing 72 people. That material was banned on all buildings in 2022.
It is unclear why flammable cladding was used in the wedding hall but reports suggest long-festering corruption has allowed builders to violate safety standards, resulting to disasters such as fires.
Burns and asphyxiation or lack of oxygen led to the deaths of more than 100 people at the wedding hall, says Iraq's health ministry spokesman, Saif Al-Badr.
Al-Badr says the fire also caused crowd crushes.
Rescuers are still sifting through the charred rubble in the northern province of Niniveh and local authorities have so far counted 113 people dead.
People have gathered at the courtyard of a nearby hospital to offer blood donations as ambulances shuttle back and forth from the site of the fire.
A refrigerated truck has also been seen loaded with black body bags.
It's currently just past 8am in Iraq and rescuers are combing the ground after a fire swept through a wedding party in Qaraqosh in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh.
If you're just joining us now, here's a quick roundup of what we know so far:
Image source, ReutersThe newly married couple both lost their lives in the blaze, according to Ahmed Dubardani, deputy head of the Nineveh health directorate.
Speaking to reporters earlier at a press conference, he added that at least fifty people were in critical condition, with at least half having suffered burns.
"The majority of the wounded were completely burned. And some others had 50 to 60 percent of their bodies burned. This is not good at all," he said.
He added that the majority of those injured were young men and women - no one has been discharged so far.
Image source, EVNThe married couple both lost their lives, said Ahmed Dubardani, deputy head of the Nineveh health directorate
There's been a major rescue effort tonight with crowds of people at the Al-Hamdaniya general hospital trying to assist the wounded.
The footage also shows anxious relatives waiting outside the hospital.
Injured wedding guests rushed to hospital after fire