An oxygen canister explosion at a Baghdad hospital has been caught on CCTV. While the blast itself was minor, the panic and fire that followed left at least 82 people dead and dozens injured.
The deadly fire occurred at the coronavirus hospital in the Iraqi capital overnight. The disaster was apparently triggered by the explosion of a tank of oxygen, used to treat critical coronavirus patients.
The moment of the blast was caught on a CCTV camera. Footage shows an off-camera explosion, followed by the sound of shattering glass. The blast immediately caused panic at the facility, with many people seen running around the hospital erratically. The explosion triggered a fire, with thick white smoke filling the hospital’s corridors moments after the canister’s rupture.
The blaze caused heavy damage to the medical facility, while dozens of people being killed or injured. According to the latest official figures, at least 82 perished in the fire, while some 100 more received various injuries.
The disaster has also sparked a major scandal within Iraq’s government, with the country’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi fuming over apparent “negligence” and vowing to punish those responsible.
“Such an incident is evidence of negligence and therefore I directed that an investigation be launched immediately and for the hospital’s manager, and the heads of security and maintenance, to be detained along with all those concerned until we identify those negligent and hold them accountable,” he said in a statement.
The incident has already led to the downfall of Iraq’s Health Minister Hassam Mohammed, who took office back in May 2020. Under order of the PM, the official was suspended and placed under investigation.
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