A devastated bride has been left 'unable to talk' from grief after a tragic fire at her wedding killed more than 100 guests.
Bride Haneen, 18, and 27-year-old groom Revan were left devastated after their special day ended in tragedy when a blaze took over in their wedding venue in Iraq’s Nineveh province.
The fire killed around 100 people and injured 150 others at a wedding hall in Qaracosh, near to the city of Mosul, on Tuesday (3 October).
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Initial reports suggested fireworks lit for the couple's dance were the cause of the blaze, however, Revan believes the fire somehow started in the ceiling.
Authorities said that flammable building materials also contributed to the disaster.
"Inside we are dead. We are numb. We are dead inside," Revan told Sky News.
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"[Haneen]'s lost 10 relatives from her family, her loved ones, her mom, her brother. She can't speak."
The couple say that the local community are blaming them for the tragic accident, forcing them to move out of their area.
Revan added: "That's it, we can't live here anymore.
"We can't live here anymore, I mean every time we try to have some happiness, something tragic happens to us and destroys the happiness so it's best for us to leave."
The husband spoke of how he had to rescue his new wife, dragging her to safety when she couldn’t escape herself because of her long wedding dress.
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"I kept dragging her and trying to get her out of the kitchen entrance. As people were fleeing, people were trampling on her,” he said.
“Our relatives, our friends, our loved ones are all gone."
Aunts, uncles, mothers, siblings and cousins were killed in the horrific fire, and now the couple are waiting anxiously to find out whether Haneen’s father will pull through.
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Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan said that the primary forensic report described a 'lack of safety and security measures' at the venue.
Iraqi security forces have reportedly arrested several workers at the venue as part of their investigation, according to Abdullah Al-Jabouri, a security official who heads the Nineveh Operations Command.
Civil defence officials quoted by the Iraqi News Agency described the wedding hall’s exterior as decorated with a highly flammable type of 'sandwich panel' cladding that is illegal in the country.
“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,” a spokesman said.
Topics: World News, News
Anish Vij