Lankan engineer among 30 killed in Iraq fire

Rafik Jalaldeen

A 29 year old Sri Lankan telecommunication engineer was among the 30 people killed in a hotel fire in northern Iraq Thursday night. The Consul General is making arrangements to bring the remains to Sri Lanka for the final rites.

An External Affairs Ministry official said according to initial reports the telecommunication engineer, S.M. Galhena, a resident of Padukka was among those killed in the hotel fire.

He was employed as a telecommunication engineer two years ago.

Galhena’s family has requested the Ministry to bring the body home for the final rites.

The Consul General has contacted Ambassador in Lebanon to make arrangements to fly the remains. “We have physically an Embassy in Iraq, however it does not function for years due to security concerns. There are legal procedures to be completed before the body is being home” the Officer told the Daily News.

According to media reports a massive blaze broke out at Soma Hotel in Sulaimaniyah city in Iraq around 10.30 pm Thursday which raged the seven hours before it was finally brought under control. Around 29 people were killed and 42 others injured. Four American soldiers and visiting telecommunication engineers from Sri Lanka, the Philippine and Cambodia were among killed. Women and children were victims of the incident.

Most of who died were suffocated by smoke. Some jumped to their deaths from Soma Hotel windows in a desperate bid to save themselves. A city council official said preliminary investigations indicated that the blaze had been caused by an electrical fault.