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The fire that killed almost 120 people had been accidental, a report said, but occurred after a series of decisions that proved deadly.

The wedding hall lacked emergency exits and a sprinkler system, and was made of materials that seemed similar to those used in Grenfell Tower in London, where a fire in 2017 killed 79 people.

The fire broke out Tuesday night in a wedding hall near the village of Qaraqosh in Hamdaniya, an area about 20 miles southeast of Mosul. Christians have lived in the area for nearly 2,000 years, but fled the Islamic State group in 2014, and only in the last couple of years have begun to return and raise families again in these small Nineveh Plain villages, local officials said.

At least 100 people died and more than 150 more were severely burned after a fire raced through a crowded wedding hall in the northern Iraqi town of Nineveh Plain on Tuesday, officials said.

Eyewitnesses said flares were set off in celebration as the bride and groom danced, and that a fire broke out at astonishing speed.