A fire at a wedding celebration led to the deaths of at least 100 people as the bride and groom break their silence and say they are "dead inside" after the disaster.
The deadly blaze took place during Haneen, 18, and 27-year-old Revan's first dance in Qaraqosh, in Iraq's Nineveh province early on Wednesday (September 27), Iraqi state media said.
Some 150 others were injured and the bride reportedly lost ten members of her family, including her mother and brother, while her new husband lost 15 relatives.
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Fireworks are thought to have sparked the blaze at Al-Haitham hall in the province's Hamdaniya district. The Iraqi News Agency cited civil defence officials as saying highly-flammable illegal cladding lined the building's exterior walls.
The newlyweds survived with injuries, despite reports previously stating that they were among the dead. "Inside we are dead. We are numb. We are dead inside," Revan said after the tragedy.
Revan added that his bride, whose father is in a critical condition, "can't speak".
He told Sky News that the fire appeared to start in the ceiling of the wedding venue.
"It could be a short-circuit, I don't know. But the fire started in the ceiling. We felt the heat… When I heard the crackling I looked at the ceiling," he told the news outlet.
"Then the ceiling, which was all nylon, started to melt. It only took seconds."
Revan saw the flames in the ceiling just after the lights were restored following a power cut. He said Haneen found it difficult to flee because of her large wedding dress.
"I kept dragging her and trying to get her out of the kitchen entrance. As people were fleeing, people were trampling on her. Her legs are injured," he added.
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"Our relatives, our friends, our loved ones are all gone," Revan said.
Horrifying images show guests on the street while the fire rages.
Ahmed Dubardani, deputy head of the Nineveh health directorate, told reporters that at least 50 of the injured are in a critical condition. He added: "The majority of the wounded were completely burned. And some others had 50 to 60 percent of their bodies burned. This is not good at all."
The death toll figure of 100 came from Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr.
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