Rivan Ishua, the groom of the ceremony that turned into a tragedy in the Hamdaniya district of Nineveh province in northern Iraq, revealed the details of the fire that broke out during the wedding and led to the death of dozens, as well as the health and psychological condition of him and his wife.
In his first appearance with his wife after the tragedy, Joshua said he hugged his wife and pulled her out after the fire, because she could not walk because of her dress.
He added that he was able to get his wife out of the kitchen door, but she fell and was run over by some people fleeing the fire, causing her feet to swell.
"Alive. But my death is within us." #الحمدانية Wedding Groom Recounts Behind The Night of Tragedy 😢 #الجزيرة_مباشر | #العراق pic.twitter.com/t9euaoHRFu
— Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) October 2, 2023
The groom revealed that his wife lost 10 members of her family in the fire, including her mother and brother, noting that she cannot speak due to her poor psychological state. Indeed, the wife (Haneen) appeared next to him and signs of sadness were visible on her.
Joshua asked bitterly, "Why? What did we do? And why did we have this thing? Salvation we cannot live here. Whenever we want to rejoice, something happens to us that prevents our joy." "We sit in front of you alive, but from within we are dead," he concluded.
The blaze on Tuesday night killed 107 people and injured 85. Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari confirmed that the incident was accidental and that fireworks were the main cause of its occurrence.
In light of its findings, the investigation committee recommended that the victims of the Hamdaniya incident be considered "martyrs" and that the mayor of al-Hamdaniya district, the director of the municipality of al-Hamdaniya district and the director of the tourism classification division in Ninawa be relieved of their posts, al-Shammari said.
The committee also recommended the dismissal of the director of the Hamdaniya district maintenance center, the director of the fire department in Ninawa and the director of civil defense from their posts, in addition to the formation of an investigation board to study the reasons for the weak response to the incident.
The Iraqi government announced the arrest of those accused of negligence and failure to provide safety conditions in the incident, including 3 owners of the hall.
Iraq records thousands of incidents of fire and drowning annually, killing hundreds and leaving many injured, and such incidents are often followed by government actions and investigations, but they have not yet resulted in an end to the tragedies that are killing Iraqis.