2025 Kut shopping mall fire
| Date | 16 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Time | c. 8:00 p.m. |
| Duration | 12 hours |
| Venue | Corniche Hypermarket |
| Location | Kut, Wasit Governorate, Iraq |
| Coordinates | 32°30′45″N 45°49′08″E / 32.5125°N 45.8189°E |
| Type | Structural fire |
| Cause | Under investigation |
| Deaths | 69–77+ |
| Non-fatal injuries | ≥200 |
| Missing | 11+ |
On 16 July 2025, a fire broke out at a shopping centre in the city of Kut, located in Wasit Governorate, eastern Iraq. The incident occurred at the Hyper Mall, a five-story commercial building. At least 69 people were confirmed dead, while 11 others were reported missing. Hundreds of people sustained injuries of varying degrees. The fire started during business hours and spread rapidly through the building.[1]
Background
[edit]The mall had opened five days before the fire.[2] Residents of Kut said the building lacked fire safety measures, including emergency exit stairways, fire extinguishers and fire alarms.[3] Iraqi officials said the building had a poor health and safety record. A provincial official said the building originally housed a restaurant which had been shut down due to standard safety violations, noting it was unclear how the building's owners obtained permission to convert it into a multistory mall with a restaurant on the top floor.[4]
Fire
[edit]The governor of the Wasit Governorate, Mohammed al-Mayahi, stated that fires broke out in a hypermarket and a restaurant where families were gathered for dinner. At the time, hundreds of people were inside.[5] Initial reports suggested the fire started on the first floor.[2] Survivors and a security official said the fires broke out after an air conditioning unit caught fire and exploded in a perfume shop.[6][4] The firefighters rescued a number of people as well as made efforts to extinguish the fire. Three days of mourning was announced and an immediate investigation of the incident whose results will be released by 48 hours. Lawsuit actions were taken against the owner of the building and restaurant.[1][7]
At least 69 people were confirmed by officials to have been killed, mostly women and children, and 11 others were reported missing in the fires, with hundreds injured.[5][8][9][10] Iraqi television reports said the death toll was 77.[11] Of the 69 victims' nationalities, 59 were identified as Iraqis and one other was identified as a foreign national.[12] The death toll is expected to rise as bodies remain unrecovered.[13] Officials said the high death toll was due to the use of highly flammable building materials and a lack of emergency exits, in violation of local health and safety regulations.[4] Among the dead were 14 unidentified charred bodies.[14] A medical source said 43 people were injured with many unidentified bodies. Most of the victims suffocated in the bathrooms while a man said five of his family members died on a lift.[6] Dozens of injured victims with severe burns were transported to the al-Zahraa Teaching Hospital.[15] It was reported that more than 100 people were either missing or injured, and the number of injured is more.[16] More than 45 people were rescued by civil defence teams.[1]
Videos on social media circulated about several floors of a five-story buliding under the blaze with people standing on the roof as firefighters continued their operation overnight.[17]
Investigation
[edit]The cause of the fire is not immediately known but initial results from an investigation will be released within 48 hours.[9] Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani inspected the shopping mall.[18] The Federal Authority for Civil Aviation began investigating the circumstances of the fire on July 17. They diagnosed the lack of an integrated fire extinguishing system, which caused the fire to engulf the other floors. The lack of emergency exits exacerbated the results noting the lack of follow-up by the Civil Defense Directorate on the fire extinguishing system upon the center's opening.[19] The Iraqi Ministry of Interior temporarily suspended seventeen employees and detained three officers. In the aftermath of the fire, the Ministry of Interior announced they closed 610 projects and facilities across various governorates for violating safety violations as a part of efforts to enhance security and safety to prevent similar incidents.[20]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Fifty people killed, injured in huge fire at hypermarket in Iraq's Kut". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ a b "60 people killed, many injured in shopping mall fire in Iraqi city of Kut". The New Indian Express. 17 June 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Shopping centre fire in Iraq kills more than 60 people". The Globe and Mail. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ a b c "Fire in Iraqi mall kills at least 61 people, officials say". The Washington Post. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ a b ""أين أنظمة السلامة؟": حريق الكوت يثير الغضب في العراق" ["Where are the safety systems?": Kut fire sparks anger in Iraq]. BBC News. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
- ^ a b "More than 60 die in fire at newly opened shopping mall in Iraq". The Guardian. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "60 dead, others missing in Iraq fire". Newswire. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Fire at Iraq mall kills 69, prime minister orders probe". Reuters. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ a b Teele Rebane; Laura Sharman (17 July 2025). "Dozens killed as massive fire rips through multi-storey commercial building in Iraq". CNN. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Iraq's shopping centre fire leaves 61 dead, many missing". BBC News. 17 July 2025. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "وفاة نحو 60 شخصاً جراء حريق بمركز تجاري في العراق" [About 60 people died in a fire at a shopping mall in Iraq.] (in Arabic). Emarat Al Youm. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "إقليم كوردستان يعرب عن استعداده لعلاج مصابي حريق الكوت" [Kurdistan Region expresses readiness to treat Kut fire victims] (in Arabic). Rudaw.net. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "توقع بارتفاع عدد الضحايا.. عدد قتلى حريق الكوت يرتفع إلى 69" [The death toll in the Kut fire is expected to rise to 69.] (in Arabic). Sky News Arabia. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "At least 60 people killed after fire breaks out in eastern Iraq shopping mall". CBC News. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "حريق الكوت.. النار تفتك بالمتسوقين وغياب الطوارئ يعمق المأساة" [Al-Kut fire: Fire ravages shoppers, and the absence of emergency services deepens the tragedy.] (in Arabic). Al Jazeera Arabic. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ ""Flames were raging": Overnight fire at al-Kut shopping mall kills at least 69 in Iraq". Global News. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Iraq shopping mall fire: 50 dead and injured in Kut's Hyper Mall". The Economic Times. 17 July 2025. ISSN 0013-0389. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "السوداني يتفقد مركز التسوق المحترق في الكوت.. والحكومة تتحرك" [Al-Sudani inspects the burned-out shopping mall in Kut, and the government takes action.] (in Arabic). Sky News Arabia. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "فريق حكومي يشخص أسباب حريق "هايبر ماركت" الكوت" [A government team is investigating the causes of the Kut hypermarket fire.] (in Arabic). Al Sumaria. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
- ^ "حريق الكوت بالعراق.. نتائج التحقيقات الأولية وحقيقة استقالة محافظ وسط" [Al-Kut fire in Iraq: Initial investigation results and the truth about the resignation of the central governor] (in Arabic). Al-Ain News. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.