Iraqi health minister resigns over hospital fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi, more than a week after a huge fire in Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in the capital Baghdad killed dozens, reported Xinhua.

A statement by his media office said al-Kadhimi accepted the resignation after recommendations issued by an investigation committee on the Ibn al-Khatib Hospital fire.

The investigation committee recommended various disciplinary penalties, including sacking director-general of the al-Risafa health department, director of Ibn al-Khatib Hospital, and other officials, according to the statement.

Late on April 24, several oxygen cylinders exploded, igniting a huge fire at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital dedicated to treating coronavirus patients on the eastern side of the capital.

On April 25, al-Kadhimi suspended al-Tamimi and opened an investigation into the deadly hospital fire, which left 82 people killed and some 110 wounded, according to official figures.

The Iraqi Independent High Commission for Human Rights in the Iraqi parliament said later that the death toll might reach 130 people.