Four members of a family burnt to death when fire erupted in a camp for displaced Ezidis in Duhok Northern province.
Amir Ali, media manager of hospital of Zakho, a subdistrict 50 km northwest of Duhok, said last night a big fire erupted in Bersvi camp, home to 1,500 displaced Ezidi families.
"The father, 31, and an 11-year-old daughter, a 10-year-old son and another of his kids passed away," he added. The mother and the last kid suffer serious burns receiving medical treatment in Duhok Burns Hospital, he added.
"The father, 31, and an 11-year-old daughter, a 10-year-old son and another of his kids passed away," he added.
An electrical short circuit was said to be the cause of the fire.
"The fire started 1:30 am due to power circuit and blazed a tent for a six-member family," Barzan Shaqo, an eye-witness told KirkukNow.
"The women ran out asking for help but the fire was blazing and she could not get in to rescue her kids. The father tried to save his kids but a steel column of the tent dropped on his head, neither him nor the kids survived," he added.
End of January, 12 tents burnt in a fire incident at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Duhok. Fire incidents at refugee and IDP camps are frequent due to electrical circuits.
Thousands of Ezidi religious minority live in about 16 camps in Duhok since 2014 when Islamic militants controlled one third of Iraqi territories. Instability and unemployment made it hard for the displaced Ezidis to return home.
