‘We are dead inside’: Bride and groom left devastated after most of their family members die in fire
'Our relatives, our friends, our loved ones are all gone,' the groom said after 100 attendees died in the fire that started during the wedding dance
HAMDANIYA, IRAQ: A newlywed pair has reportedly been left heartbroken as most of their family members died in a fire that ignited during their wedding dance.
Haneen and Ravan were reportedly celebrating their wedding on September 26 when the tragedy struck, killing 100 guests in the northern town of Qaraqosh near Mosul in Iraq.
A total of 900 were apparently in attendance.
Jamil al-Jamil, a friend of the newlywed, reportedly said, “The bride lost her whole family - three brothers, all of her uncles, and her young cousins. The groom lost his mother.”
اِس شادی کی تقریب میں آگ لگنے سے دلہن کا چار بھائیوں سمیت تمام خان، دولہے کی ماں ، کل ملا کر 98 افراد لقمہ اجل بنے۔
— Hasan Shabbir (@professor_hasan) September 29, 2023
شادیاں سادگی سے کیوں نہیں ہو سکتی ؟ pic.twitter.com/pdvObs7LuQ
What did the bride and the groom say?
The 27-year-old groom said, as reported by Ladbible, “Inside we are dead. We are numb. We are dead inside.”
He also shared that the reason behind the fire “could be a short-circuit, I don't know.”
“But the fire started in the ceiling. We felt the heat… When I heard the crackling I looked at the ceiling. Then the ceiling, which was all nylon, started to melt. It only took seconds,” Ravan stated.
His 18-year-old wife declined to speak but Ravan mentioned how he saved her from the flames.
He added, “I kept dragging her and trying to get her out of the kitchen entrance. As people were fleeing, people were trampling on her. Her legs are injured. Our relatives, our friends, our loved ones are all gone.”
‘Islamic State didn't kill us, this catastrophe killed us’
Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari reportedly said earlier, “The hall did not meet safety criteria. Because of the fireworks the ceiling collapsed on the people in the hall. Justice will be served to those who were negligent.”
“The fire led to the collapse of parts of the hall as a result of the use of highly flammable, low-cost building materials that collapse within minutes when the fire breaks out,” a statement by the Iraqi Civil Defense read.
Besides, Ravan’s father alleged, “I hold the owner of the hall responsible for what happened at the party because there are no extinguishers or safety measures in the hall.”
Priest Boutros Shito added, “Islamic State didn't kill us, this catastrophe killed us. In this country, we always wait until a disaster occurs and then deal with the results. Our home is now empty of family because of greed and corruption.”
