• The wedding venue in Qaraqosh lacked safety features like emergency exits and a sprinkler system.
• Building materials similar to Grenfell Tower where a 2017 fire killed 79.
• A tragic fire during a wedding reception left at least 119 dead and many missing.
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The wedding venue in Qaraqosh, a small Christian town in northern Iraq, tragically lacked essential safety features such as emergency exits and a sprinkler system.

Furthermore, the materials used in its construction appeared to resemble those found in Grenfell Tower in London, where a devastating fire in 2017 claimed the lives of 79 individuals.

Since Tuesday, mourning has enveloped the community of Qaraqosh and the broader Christian population in Iraq.

The fire, which occurred during a wedding reception, resulted in the loss of at least 119 lives, with an unknown number still missing among the approximately 1,000 guests who were present.

Around 80 individuals are currently receiving treatment in hospitals, with more than a dozen of them being transported to burn centers in neighboring countries.

The profound sense of grief in Qaraqosh is intertwined with anger and disbelief, as the initial investigation into the fire confirmed what many witnesses had already asserted: the wedding hall had neglected fundamental safety standards by lacking emergency exits and a sprinkler system.

Additionally, the building’s construction materials were highly flammable and appeared to resemble those used in Grenfell Tower, a low-income residential block in London that experienced a deadly fire in 2017, claiming the lives of 72 people.

For many in Qaraqosh, this tragic incident serves as another stark illustration of how corruption, incompetence, and greed within Iraq’s business and government circles routinely jeopardize people’s lives in the pursuit of profit.