Parents blast Iraqi government after 11 premature babies die from Hospital fire outbreak

At least 11 premature babies have been killed after fire engulfed a hospital in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, hospital and police officials say.

The fire which broke out late on Tuesday inside the maternity unit at the Yarmouk Hospital was extinguished after three hours, but that wasn't fast enough to save the 11 premature babies while 7 other children and 29 women had to be moved to nearby hospitals.

Their Ministry of Health has blamed an electrical fault for the calamity but that didn't stop family members who lost their children and loved ones from blasting the government.

 

Hussein Omar, a 30-year-old builder, told the Associated Press;

"I only found charred pieces of flesh, I want my baby boy and girl back. The government must give them back to me."

Eshrak Ahmed Jaasar, 41, who was unable to find her four-day-old nephew.

"I came early this morning to see my nephew and his mother, but they told me about the fire," she told AP. My nephew is still missing and his mother was moved to another hospital ward."

He added:

"We pay the hospital employees thousands of Iraqi dinars to allow us in to get our loved ones basic food and milk, which they cannot provide. It's a corrupt government that doesn't care about its citizens and lets this happen."