A fire at a shopping center in eastern Iraq kills more than 60 people

KUT, Iraq (AP) — A fire engulfed a newly opened shopping center in eastern Iraq, killing more than 60 people, including children, Iraqi officials said Thursday.

Civil defense teams rescued more than 45 people who became trapped when the fire broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut in Wasit province, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Others are still missing, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.

Photographs and videos on local media showed the five-story Corniche Hypermarket Mall engulfed in flames only a week after it had opened. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials and residents alleged that a lack of fire safety measures in the building contributed to the scale of the tragedy.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that 61 people died in the shopping center fire, most of them from suffocation. Among the dead were 14 charred bodies that remain unidentified, it said. The fire started on the second floor, in an area selling perfume and cosmetics, the state news agency said,

The fire was deeply painful for the community, said 60-year-old Kut resident Abdul Redha Thahab.

“My friend and neighbor’s family, who lived right next to my house — a family of six, the husband, his wife, their two daughters, and two young children — all perished in the fire,” he said.

Provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Miyahi declared three days of mourning, with Iraq's Cabinet later following suit. He said legal cases were filed against the building owner and shopping center owner, but did not specify what the charges were.

“We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident,” al-Miyahi said.

In a phone interview with The Associated Press, al-Miyahi called the fire “a heartbreaking tragedy for the people of Wasit” and alleged that the building owner had not implemented the necessary fire safety measures when he converted it into a shopping center.

He said that no government official has resigned or been dismissed as a result of the fire, and that they are currently awaiting the results of the investigation. The results of the preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours, he said.

The building owner could not immediately be reached for comment.

Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. In July 2021, a blaze at a hospital in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah that killed between 60 to 92 people was determined to have been fueled by highly flammable, low-cost type of “sandwich panel” cladding that is illegal in Iraq.

In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.

Thahab, the Kut resident, said the building lacked fire safety measures, including emergency exit stairways. Residents of the neighborhood had joined firefighters in battling the blaze because there were not enough fire trucks to quickly control it, he said.

Some of the victims came from farther afield. In the southern city of Najaf, Imad al-Quraishi walked in the funeral procession of a relative who died in the blaze. Like others, he blamed poor safety standards.

“No emergency exits, no fire extinguisher, no care, nothing,” he said, adding that if the authorities in the area “have any honor, they will submit their resignation today.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani visited the site of the fire Thursday. He did not speak publicly at the site, but said in a statement that he had directed the interior minister to go to investigate and take measures to prevent a recurrence.

The state news agency later reported that al-Sudani had visited the family of one of the victims to give condolences.

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Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. Associated Press journalist Ali Sadiq in Najaf contributed to this report.

Iraqi security forces gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Mourners attend the funeral of victims who died in a fire at a shopping center in Kut, at the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Mourners attend the funeral of victims who died in a fire at a shopping center in Kut, at the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Firefighters gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi security forces gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Firefighters gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Firefighters gather in front of a burnt building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025 following a fire. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi people gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi Security forces gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi people gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi security forces gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Mourners attend the funeral of victims who died in a fire at a shopping center in Kut, at the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Mourners attend the funeral of victims who died in a fire at a shopping center in Kut, at the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Firefighters gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi security forces gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Firefighters gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Firefighters gather in front of a burnt building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025 following a fire. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi people gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi Security forces gather in front of a burning hypermarket building in Kut, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — The big surprise of the World Cup slalom season scored his second win Sunday adding to his fast-rising reputation before the Winter Olympics.

Paco Rassat raced to the fastest time in the second run to rise from fourth place, and push two Norwegians down the podium steps after they had been fastest in the morning run.

United States-born Atle Lie McGrath was edged out by 0.18 seconds and first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen dropped to third, trailing 0.20 behind Rassat.

The 27-year-old Frenchman had a career-best result of ninth in World Cup races before this Olympic season started.

Rassat now has two wins, a third place and two sixth places this season and shapes as a medal contender for the Milano Cortina Olympics. The men’s slalom is on Feb. 16 at Bormio.

“To win on this crazy hill at Adelboden, It’s something really unbelievable," Rassat told Swiss broadcaster RTS, describing his season as “a magnificent surprise.”

Rassat also took the lead in the seasonlong World Cup slalom standings, ahead of his France teammate Clément Noël, the defending Olympic champion. Noël tied for eighth Sunday.

McGrath was runner-up in the Adelboden slalom for the third time in four years.

“It’s kind of crazy,” said McGrath, whose father Felix skied for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. “I’m of course super happy, it’s such a challenging slope and mentally it’s one of the toughest places to perform because of this amazing crowd.”

Another packed finish-area crowd at Adelboden observed a minute’s silence before racing for the victims of the fatal fire in a bar in nearby Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day. Crans-Montana hosts men’s and women’s World Cup races in three weeks’ time.

The World Cup overall standings leader, four-time title holder Marco Odermatt, does not ski slalom and his huge lead was cut a little by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who placed fourth. Pinheiro Braathen was second to Odermatt in the classic giant slalom Saturday.

The men’s World Cup circuit stays in central Switzerland for the storied Lauberhorn meeting at Wengen, for a super-G on Friday, the classic downhill Saturday and a slalom Sunday.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

France's Paco Rassat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

France's Paco Rassat reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)