A deadly blaze ripped through a maternity ward at a Baghdad hospital overnight, killing 12 babies. Government officials said the fire was likely caused by faulty electrical wiring.
Grief-stricken fathers searched for their missing newborns in vain while relatives gathered outside the Yarmouk hospital in western Baghdad, blaming the government for the tragedy.
According to the hospital director, Saad Hatem Ahmed, the blaze broke out late on Tuesday night and that the initial investigation indicated it was an electrical fire. Ahmed said that 29 female patients and eight babies were moved from the ward from where the fire broke out and transferred to another hospital.
A yellow tape stretched across the ward entrance as forensic teams in masks and protective gloves search through the rubble and charred pieces of furniture.
According to one of Yarmouk hospital's doctors, some of the dead babies were premature, but not all of them.
Parents, especially mothers were shocked as they see what's left of their babies, mostly just a few days old. Most of them have waited so long, even years, to have a baby and it's just devastating to realize that they're gone in just a few seconds.
Electrical fires are common in the Iraqi capital and elsewhere across the country because of shoddy maintenance and poor wiring. Lack of fire escapes also contributes to the danger. There is also a widespread failure by construction companies and those providing building material to follow accepted standards.
Source: CBS News
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