Four bodies of pilgrims trapped under the rubble of a Shiite shrine, part of which collapsed during a landslide in central Iraq, have been removed, relief workers said on Sunday. “We found four bodies, including that of a woman”, in this sanctuary in the province of Karbala, General Abdelrahmane Jaoudat, director of the civil defense media department, told AFP.
Rescuers had previously said they were trying to extract six to eight pilgrims trapped under the rubble of Imam Ali’s Qattarat, a relatively modest sacred building surrounded by rock walls. Three children have already been rescued and are in “good health. They have been hospitalized,” the emergency services said.
“Any mistake could lead to further collapses”
According to Iraqi Civil Defense spokesman Nawas Sabah Shaker, a portion of the rock broke off on Saturday afternoon “due to the high humidity” and fell on the building. The landslide caused the collapse “of about 30% of the total surface of the building which measures some 100 square meters”, he explained. Quoted by the state news agency INA, the rescuers said they had managed to transmit oxygen, food and water to people trapped under the rubble. They also claimed to maintain verbal contact with the victims “to reassure them”.
“We are working hard with the utmost precision to reach those who are stuck. Any mistake could lead to further collapses,” Abdelrahmane Jaoudat, director of the Civil Defense media department, told AFP.
“We want to know what happened, why it happened”
A witness told AFP that his nephew was trapped under the rubble “when the roof collapsed” on Saturday. “I fear that all the efforts undertaken will be in vain (…). We want to know what happened, why it happened,” he added. During the day on Sunday, backhoe loaders were busy removing rubble, according to an AFP correspondent on the spot. Outside and inside the building, the police, the army and the men of Hachd al-Chaabi, former paramilitaries integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, secured the site.
In a tweet, Iraqi President Barham Saleh called on “heroic” rescuers to “mobilize all their efforts to save those trapped”. Imam Ali’s Qattarat is located about 25 km west of the holy Shia city of Karbala and it attracts pilgrims by the thousands every year. It is dedicated to Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and founding figure of Shia Islam. According to Shia tradition, Imam Ali stopped here with his army on his way to the Battle of Siffin in 657 and caused a spring to spring up there.