At least 23 people died when a fire broke out in a coronavirus intensive care unit in the capital of Iraq, a country with long-dilapidated health infrastructure facing mounting Covid-19 cases.
The fire started with an explosion caused by "a fault in the storage of oxygen cylinders", medical sources told AFP. It spread quickly, according to the civil defence, as "the hospital had no fire protection system and false ceilings allowed the flames to spread to highly flammable products".
Iraq's hospitals have been worn down by decades of conflict and poor investment, with shortages in medicines and hospital beds.
Videos on social media showed firefighters trying to extinguish flames at the hospital on the southeastern outskirts of the Iraqi