Couple makes heartbreaking confession after 100 people died at their wedding

For many couples, their wedding day is the happiest moment of their lives. But for Haneen and Revan, their special day turned into an unimaginable nightmare that will haunt them forever.

On the night of their wedding, which was attended by around 900 guests, tragedy struck during the celebration at a banquet hall in Qaraqosh, a Christian town in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province.

The fire started unexpectedly while the couple danced together, surrounded by friends and family. What should have been a joyful moment quickly turned into chaos and heartbreak.

The flames erupted between 10:00 and 10:45 p.m. and spread rapidly through the ceiling of the hall. ”We felt the heat… When I heard the crackling, I looked at the ceiling,” Revan said, describing the horrifying moment during an interview with Sky News. ”Then the ceiling, which was all nylon, started to melt. It only took seconds.”

Reports initially suggested the fire may have been caused by fireworks, but Revan believes the fire began in the ceiling, possibly due to an electrical short circuit. ”It could be a short circuit, I don’t know. But the fire started in the ceiling.”

As the flames grew, panic set in. Revan described the horrifying scene: ”People began to scream and run away. I grabbed my wife, and I began to drag her. I kept dragging her and trying to get her out of the kitchen entrance. As people were fleeing, people were trampling on her. Her legs are injured.”

The groom’s father had warned about the potential risks of fireworks during the wedding planning, expressing concern that sparks from the fireworks could land on the couple or guests. However, the venue’s owners reassured him that the fireworks were electric and posed no danger.

When the fire broke out, the situation escalated quickly. One fire extinguisher was available, but it failed to work. ”The fire was sudden, and rapidly consumed the ceiling almost completely,” said Nirvan, an attendee who managed to escape. ”My wife got injured during the ensuing stampede.”

Despite their desperate efforts to escape, Revan and Haneen managed to flee through a kitchen door. But tragically, many guests did not survive. Over 100 people died, and at least 150 were injured. Haneen lost 10 relatives in the fire, including her mother and brother. Her father was critically injured. The devastation left the newlyweds and their families forever scarred

The Civil Defence Directorate later revealed that the banquet hall’s ceiling was made of highly flammable composite panels, which violated safety regulations. The fire spread so quickly that parts of the building collapsed within minutes.