Seven bodies, including women and children, were found by rescue workers, and the hunt for the missing is still ongoing.
In the search and rescue efforts following the tragedy involving the fall of a dirt hill on the Qattara shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in Karbala, more than 70 volunteers from the IRCS took part.
As soon as the tragedy happened, the IRCS’s teams sprang into action, mobilizing its cadres for the operation of search, rescue and the care of the injured.
The Qattara Shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) structure, which is situated on low terrain surrounded by sand and rocks and is 30 kilometers west of Karbala, fell as a result of the high humidity, a 100 square meter portion of the building, or around 30%, collapsed while people were inside.
As four people were saved, the rescue teams stepped up their efforts to look for survivors, the rescue teams are operating cautiously out of concern for additional collapses.
The IRCS’s teams have distributed personal protection items like paws and masks and provided first aid for the participants’ injuries sustained during the search operations, they also cleared the rubble.
The IRCS’s ambulances
carried some fainting patients to families of the missing while delivering a handful of bodies to the Imam Hussein medical city.
In order to shelter the rescue crews and families of the missing, eight tents were set up close to the location of the tragedy.
After more than a day has passed since the tragedy, the likelihood of finding survivors decreases, but the hunt for the missing is still ongoing.