Huge fire breaks out in hotel in Erbil
Firefighters putting out the fire broke out in Hawler Plaza Hotel in Erbil. Photo: Russia Today
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – A huge fire broke out on Sunday evening inside a hotel in Kurdistan capital, Erbil, in northern Iraq, and Civil Defense teams rushed to the scene to try to control it, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The INA reported that the fire broke out in the Erbil Plaza Hotel near the Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil city.
The INA also mentioned that civil defense teams arrived at the scene to put out the fire.
“The fire broke out in the 7-storey Hawler Plaza Hotel,” the Civil Defense media official in Erbil, Sarkot Karsh, told the INA.
Karsh also indicated that five fire engines were sent to the scene where firefighters tried to put it out.
The Iraqi authorities announced last month that the number of fires broke out during July reached 3,077 which is the highest number over the past years.
A statement issued by the Iraqi Civil Defense indicated that the fires caused the death of 18 people, and most of the deaths were a result of inhaling the toxic smoke of fires.
The most common cause of fires was electrical short circuits, as it caused 47 percent of fire incidents, according to the statement.