Boiler explosion in Erbil mall kills one: Official
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A water boiler exploded on Monday inside one of Erbil’s major malls, possibly due to faulty electrical wiring, leading to a major blaze which was quickly contained by a firefighting team, an official said.
The Royal Mall high-rise is located in the Kurdistan Region’s capital, at the corner of 60 Meter and Shoresh street.
The initial blast was heard by people in the vicinity of the mall, leading to panic inside the building itself as storekeepers and customers rushed to the exits.
The complex was later fully evacuated so the police could begin their investigation into the cause of the explosion.
An official supervising the firefighting team on site told Kurdistan 24 that a worker close to the boiler passed away in the blast.
“Our firefighting teams put out the fire. Unfortunately, an employee lost his life in the explosion,” said Shwan Abdul-Qadir, the head of Erbil’s Civil Defense Team.
However, a mall employee who was also present at the moment of the incident later disputed Abdul-Qadir’s statement, claiming instead that a person had been injured and rushed to the hospital for treatment.
He also said security teams were conducting an investigation into the incident but voiced his suspicion that a short-circuit could have led to the blast.
Such incidents are a common occurrence in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region as poor electrical work have caused electrical fires and hazardous short-circuits. Major fires were recorded in recent months, notably in Erbil’s Qaisary and Langa bazaars, leading to millions of dollars in repair costs.
Editing by Nadia Riva