Several dead in fire at Baghdad hospital for Covid-19 patients

At least 27 people have been killed and 46 injured in a fire at a hospital in southeastern Baghdad that had been equipped to house Covid-19 patients, according to medical sources at three nearby hospitals.

The fire at the Ibn Khatib hospital in the Diyala Bridge area of the Iraqi capital occurred on Saturday after an accident caused an oxygen tank to explode, the sources said.

Many ambulances were rushing towards the hospital, ferrying away those hurt by the fire, a Reuters photographer nearby said.

Patients not injured in the incident were also being transferred out of the hospital, the medical sources said.

The head of Iraqi civil defence unit said the fire broke out in the floor designated for the pulmonary intensive care unit and that 90 people have been rescued from the hospital out of 120, state news agency INA quoted him as saying.

Major General Kadhim Bohan added that the fire has been put out.

'Crime against patients exhausted by Covid-19'

The fire, which according to several sources was caused by negligence, often linked to endemic corruption in Iraq, immediately sparked anger on social media in the country.

Baghdad Governor Mohammed Jaber called on the health ministry "to establish a commission of enquiry so that those who did not do their jobs may be brought to justice."

In a statement, the government's human rights commission said the incident was "a crime against patients exhausted by Covid-19 who put their lives in the hands of the health ministry and its institutions and instead of being treated, perished in flames."

The commission called on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhemi to sack Health Minister Hassan al Tamimi and "bring him to justice."

Kadhemi responded by calling for "an immediate investigation with those in charge at the ministry" and demanded that the "hospital director, head of security and the technical maintenance team be sent to the investigators and not be released until those at fault have been brought to justice."

By the early hours of Sunday, while the civil defence said the fire was under control, the health ministry had not issued any statement or announced how many people had been killed or wounded.

Over 15,000 coronavirus deaths

The first cases of Covid-19 appeared in Iraq in February 2020.

The health ministry has since recorded a total of 1,025,288 cases of the disease and 15,217 deaths.

It has said it carries out around 40,000 tests daily from a population of 40 million.

Those patients who can often prefer to source oxygen tanks for treatment at home, rather than go to overcrowded and run-down hospitals.

READ MORE: Iraq is fudging its coronavirus figures to quell public rage

Vaccination campaign

The country launched its vaccination campaign last month, and has received nearly 650,000 doses of different vaccines, the majority by donation or through the Covax programme, which is helping lower and middle income nations to procure vaccines.

As of Wednesday, 274,343 people had received at least one dose, the ministry said.

Health authorities have faced an uphill battle to convince Iraqis to get vaccinated, in the face of widespread scepticism over the jab and public reluctance to wear masks since the start of the pandemic.

READ MORE: Latest Covid-19 updates