27th September, 2023
One family lost 15 of its members in the horrific Christian wedding party fire in an events hall that happened overnight and evoked global sympathy.
The heavy family loss came to light as survivors and mourners buried the dead in the northern Iraqi town of Qaraqosh.
Among the dead were the bride and groom.
Samira, a 53-year-old housewife, who lamented the loss said the 15 who died in her family included “from the father to the youngest child, aged four”.
“We still have to bury a man and his two twin daughters. They’re dead but we haven’t recovered the bodies,” she added.
Other burials are planned in the coming days.
A huge portrait of Jesus Christ dominated the procession which parted to make way for a stream of about 20 coffins.
At the cemetery, mourners gathered around the clergy from various churches, chanting prayers in Syriac and delivering sermons in Arabic.
Some of the faithful held up portraits of deceased loved ones.
The day before, those in the pictures had gathered in an elegant banqueting hall to attend a wedding.
But as the bride and groom danced, a fire erupted in the reception hall, killing at least 100 people and injuring 150 others.
By all accounts, the fire spread at a rapid rate.
Footage shared on social media showed indoor fireworks flaring so high that they set ceiling decorations alight.
On Wednesday, one by one, around 20 coffins covered in satin or bouquets of flowers were carried through the crowd on the shoulders of men.
They were followed by women in tears, all dressed in black and supported on either side as they were barely able to stand up on their own.
Crowds swarm cemetery
“There isn’t a single person who hasn’t lost a family member or a friend,” said the 50 year-old Samira.
The crowd that swarmed the cemetery chanted “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” before singing liturgical hymns.
In front of the family vaults lining the cemetery lanes, men and women wept loudly and let out cries of anguish.
One woman knelt to kiss the portrait of a young woman.
‘Terrible flames’
The civil defence said the reception hall had been fitted with prefabricated panels that were “highly flammable and contravened safety standards”.
They caught fire immediately on contact with indoor fireworks.
The panicked guests were caught in a stampede and unable to escape in time from the hall, which the civil defence said lacked sufficient emergency exits.
“While the bride and groom were dancing, the sprays of sparks were activated,” said Ronak Sabih, a 41-year-old survivor.
“There were feather decorations on the ceiling and they caught fire. The flames were terrible,” said the man who returned on Wednesday to inspect the site of the disaster.
“We called the fire brigade. We called everyone,” he said.
“From that door I pulled out bodies. I carried them in my arms. We wrapped them in blankets to take them to hospital.”