Iraqi hospital administrators abandon posts after deadly fire at COVID facility

NASIRIYAH, Iraq — Several hospital administrators in a southern Iraqi province have abandoned their posts, local authorities say, after arrest warrants were issued for senior staff following a deadly hospital fire in the city of Nasiriyah.

Saad al-Majid, health director of the southern governorate of Dhi Qar, tells AFP that management teams of five hospitals had quit as “they’re unwilling to assume responsibility” over any possible repeat of the tragedy.

At least 60 people were killed in the blaze late Monday at a temporary facility for COVID-19 patients at Nasiriyah’s Al-Hussein Hospital in Dhi Qar fuelled by oxygen canisters exploding.

It was the second such tragedy in Iraq in three months.