Pope Francis expresses condolences to families of fire victims in Iraq
Pope Francis, the leader of the world's Catholics, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of the fire in Iraq.
A large fire broke out in the Christian area of Hamdaniyah in the Nineveh province of Iraq, following which seven days of public mourning were declared.
The fire, which started in a wedding hall in the Hamdaniyah area and was caused by fireworks, caused the roof of the hall to collapse, trapping the crowd, turning the wedding into a mourning event throughout Iraq, with the bride and groom also losing their lives in the fire. The fire has now claimed 120 lives and injured 200.
According to local officials, Al-Hamdaniya Hospital did not have the capacity to accommodate the injured, and many of them were transferred to the provinces of Kirkuk, Erbil, and Baghdad. The number of injured was so high that hospitals were forced to issue calls for blood donations.
It should be noted that the Hamdaniyah region is a Christian city in Nineveh province, where Pope Francis visited the Christians of the region and the churches destroyed by ISIS militants during his visit to Nineveh two years ago. Pope Francis sent condolences to the survivors of the victims of the incident yesterday through the Vatican's Foreign Ministry and expressed sympathy with the Christians of Iraq.
According to the Kurdistan 24 report, in his message of condolence, Pope Francis emphasized patience and kindness to each other in difficult circumstances.
