Fire from oxygen tank blast in Baghdad COVID-19 hospital kills 82

People gather at Ibn Khatib hospital after a fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, April 25, 2021. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -A fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad took at least 82 lives and forced some people to leap through windows out of the burning building, witnesses and authorities said on Sunday.

As rescuers combed the smoke-charred building, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi blamed negligence and suspended his Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi pending an inquiry into Saturday's blaze at the Ibn Khatib hospital.