Tragic details have emerged after more than one hundred people were killed in an Iraqi wedding.
Newlyweds Ravan and Haneen were celebrating their special day in the town of Qaraqosh near Mosul when their venue turned into a blazing fireball as a result of illegal cladding that caught fire when fireworks were lit.
After the venue was engulfed in flames, over one hundred guests of the Christian wedding died from burns and smoke inhalation while an additional 160 or more suffered a variety of injuries.
In terrifying footage shared on the internet, guests could be seen screaming and begging for help and panic ensued in the burning building.
It was now also revealed that the bride had lost her entire family in the blaze.
“The bride lost her whole family – three brothers, all of her uncles and her young cousins. The groom lost his mother,” Jamil al-Jamil, the couple’s friend, explained.
Recalling the disastrous event was also Mariam Khedr who said: “This was not a wedding. This was hell.”
According to the reports, up to 900 guests were packed in the wedding venue at the time of the incident.
The newlyweds survived and are currently still being treated at the hospital.
“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,” the groom’s father added.
Another wedding guest told the local media that the entire community was rocked by what had happened.
“The bride and groom are fine. I was just with them now, but their condition is devastating due to what happened to people here,” they said.
As of this writing, an investigation into the case remains ongoing and it is yet to be determined if the owners of the venue with illegal cladding will face any charges.
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