Bride and groom survived Iraqi wedding inferno that killed more than 100 guests after escaping through a kitchen door

28 September 2023, 11:17

The bride and groom of the Iraqi wedding where a horror inferno killed more than 100 of their guests survived after escaping through the kitchen door.

Haneen and Revan, who were enjoying their first dance when the blaze began, were feared to have perished in the blaze.

But it has now been revealed that the Iraqi couple are being treated in hospital and have been left in a "dire" psychological situation.

The tragedy, which killed at least 113 people and injured 150 more, has plunged the northern town of Qaraqosh, near Mosul, into mourning.

The father of the groom said that the couple survived the blaze which tore through the large hall in the Christian town, which had survived ISIS occupation.

He told CNN: "I hold the owner of the hall responsible for what happened at the party because there are no extinguishers or safety measures in the hall."

Another guest told private Iraqi channel Alawla TV: "The bride and groom are fine. I was just with them now, but their condition is devastating due to what happened to people here."

More than 100 people die in fire at wedding in Iraq aftermath

Heartbreaking footage shows the aftermath of an inferno inside a wedding hall that killed at least 114 people.

Charred debris is all that remains after a firework display during the couple's first dance sparked a blaze that tore through the hall.

Phone footage shows the guests sitting calmly at dinner tables as music plays, while the flames lap up at a large chandelier behind them.

Suddenly the chandelier catches fire, and the blaze is thought to have spread quickly after that.

Read More: Shocking video shows start of Iraq wedding disaster as fireworks ignite decorations before blaze breaks out, killing 114

Read More: Bride and groom among 100 killed during 'first dance' at Iraqi wedding after 'fireworks set off inside hall'

No official cause of the fire has been given yet, despite the firework footage.

Prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation and asked the country's interior and health officials to provide relief, his office said in a statement online.

He said he had phoned the governor and "the Ministers of Interior and Health are directed to mobilize all efforts to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate incident.

Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr said: "All efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate accident."

The wedding hall was decorated with illegal, highly flammable cladding.

Officials said: "The fire led to the collapse of parts of the hall as a result of the use of highly flammable, low-cost building materials that collapse within minutes when the fire breaks out."