A couple, whose wedding celebration ended in disaster after a f#re k#lledmore than 100 of their guests, have told Sky News they are “d£ad inside” following the tragedy.
Revan, 27, and bride, Haneen, 18, survived the blaze, which began inside a packed wedding hall in Qaragosh in the Nineveh province of Northern Iraq.
At least 150 others were also inj¥red as a result of thr incident. Revan said he lost 15 members of his family in the f#re, adding his bride “can’t speak” after the loss of 10 of her relatives, including her mother and brother. Her father is also in a critical condition. “It’s true that we’re sitting here in front of you alive. But inside we are d£ad. We are n¥mb. We are d£ad inside,” he said.
The wedding on Tuesday night is understood to have had around 900 guests, with the f#re starting at around 10.45pm. While initial reports suggested fireworks lit for the couple’s slow dance were to blame for the blaze, Revan believes the f#re somehow started in the ceiling.
“It could be a short-circuit, I don’t know. But the f#re started in the ceiling. We felt the heat… When I heard the crackling I looked at the ceiling,” he said. Video footage shared shortly after the tragedy shows the couple dancing as b¥rning pieces of material fell from the roof.
It was during the dance, he said, a power cut took place – and when the electricity came back on he “saw f#re” in the ceiling. It was then that people started to “scream” and “run away”.
He went on to describe helping his wife who couldn’t walk because of her wedding gown. “I grabbed my wife and I began to dr@g her. I kept dr@gging her and trying to get her out of the kitchen entrance. As people were fleeing, people were trampling on her. Her legs are inj¥red.”
Revan said there was only one f#re extinguisher, which “didn’t work”. Describing how events unfolded, he said two small fireworks were lit as they started to dance, followed by four more a few minutes later. He said his father had asked questions about the risk of such fireworks causing sparks which could “land on the bride’s gown” and “catch f#re” but had been told by the hall owners that the fireworks were electric, so “you could put your hand or even plastic [on it] and it won’t bYrn”
Eyewitnesses recalled the h%rror of the night when hundreds of guests were trapped as the f#re erupted. Imad Yohana, a survivor, recounted the ch#otic scene, describing the f#re as “pulsating” and noting the devastating impact on those who struggled to escape.
Rania Waad, who s¥ffere b¥rns to her hand, shared her terrifying experience, recounting that fireworks set off the blaze as the bride and groom slow danced. The entire hall quickly became an inferno, leaving guests disoriented and gasping for air.One survivor’s harrowing account revealed the anguish of searching for missing family members amidst the ch#os, with loved ones lost in the tragic event.
In response to this catastrophe, Iraq’s president expressed condolences on social media and called for unified efforts to aid the affected individuals. The prime minister pledged to conduct building inspections and scrutinize safety procedures, holding those responsible accountable.
