CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th April, 2021) Iraqi President Barham Salih on Sunday blamed a deadly fire at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad on corruption and mismanagement that he said had eroded state institutions.
A blaze ripped through the Ibn al-Khatib hospital overnight after an oxygen cylinder blew up. The Interior Ministry said that at least 82 people died and 110 others were injured.
"The tragedy at Ibn al-Khatib hospital is a wound for the entire nation. It is a result of erosion of state institutions by corruption and mismanagement," the president tweeted.
He promised to hold those responsible to account and conduct a comprehensive review of public institutions to make sure that such disasters would not happen again.
Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi and Governor of Baghdad Mohammed Jaber al-Atta have been reportedly suspended.
