What Happened? On November 18, at 7.38 pm, a gas leak explosion levelled a three-story building in Sulaimani's Kaziwa street. The house inhabitants were busy celebrating birthday of one of their sons. During the birthday party, a house gas plumbing mechanic was attempting to fix a leak but ended up exploding the entire building, according to the Sulaimani Civil Defense Department. The gas cylinder explosion damaged nearby homes and vehicles in the residential area.

A civil engineer told KurdSat English that the house was completely demolished because of its architecture, as it lack supporting columns and was made entirely from blocks. Now the nearby houses are evacuated, fearing their collapse.  

Houses close to the blast damaged 

Similar incident: A similar gas tank-caused explosion happened in Sulaimani's Rizgary neighborhood but caused only material damage as nobody was at home at the time.

Why did It happen? The natural gas plumber was from Rojhelat and was unlicensed, Sulaimani Civil Defense Department Head Diyar Ibrahim said in a press conference at the site of the incident. As he had worked to fix a possible leak, he might have erroneously set off the explosion as gas continued to build up within the house; the technician's wife was also injured and is currently receiving treatment; the couple were related to the house family, per early reports. 

Causalities: The explosion left 15 dead, eight minors and seven adults. The victims were trapped under rubble, and Sulaimani authorities and volunteers took over 17 hours to recover the bodies. One of the victims was an infant another was a young family. The unprecedented incident drew thousands of people to the explosion site. Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir declared a state of national mourning and helped all authorities to unearth the victims as soon as possible. Five of the injured were sent home after brief admission to the hospital. A 13-year-old boy gave in to his injuries at Shar Hospital in Sulaimani, the hospital said in a statement. A man lost his wife, son, and daughter as he left the house just before the blast.

Nation-wide Sympathy: People of Erbil expressed their sympathy with Sulaimani and lit 15 candles on the Erbil Citadel to honor the victims and offered their assistance. Twelve others were injured, and teams are trying to rescue those trapped under the rubble. People all over the Kurdistan region changed their profile pictures on Facebook and other social media platforms to sympathize with the victims and people of Sulaimani.

Candles lit on the walls of Erbil Citadel to honor the victims 

Following the blast, rescue teams from the of civil defense, Asaysh (security forces), Sulaimani municipality, police, healthcare and a large number of volunteers rushed to the scene to rescue those trapped under the rubble of the house. KurdSat's reporters covered the incident for 17 continuous hours.

Help from Kurdish Leaders: PUK President Bafel Jalal Talabani said, "Our hearts go out to the families of the victims of tonight's tragic incident in Sulaimani." Talabani wished speedy and full recovery to the victims and said that the PUK would take on any injured abroad to cure them if needed, and promised to rebuild the levelled house and nearby damaged property, compensate damaged vehicles and cover all fees for the burial of the victims.

International Sympathy: On Friday, US Ambassador to Baghdad Alina L. Romanowski also tweeted in English and Arabic, although not in Kurdish as the victims were Kurdish and said, "our sincere condolences for the tragic loss of life from the gas tank explosion in Sulaymaniya."

"Our sympathies go out to the families of the victims. We wish a full recovery to the injured and send our sincere appreciation to the rescue workers."

Canadian Ambassador Gregory Galligan also offered his "sincere condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured by the tragic gas explosion yesterday evening in Sulaymaniyah."

Burial: KurdSat News reporter said, At the behest of Haji Mazhar, the house owner, who was injured in the blast and is receiving treatment at the Shar Hospital, all the 14 victims of his family will be buried in Sulaimani's Kalakin cemetery. The body of the gas plumbing technician who lost his life in the explosion would be put to rest in Baneh, Iran. His relatives have come from Baneh and would repatriate his body back to the east and buried there.

Thousands of people mourning at the burial of the Sulaimani gas cylinder explosion victims 

The victims were all buried next to one another and borne to their burial through streets crowded with tens of thousands of mourners. Mourners from other cities of the Kurdistan region refrained from celebrations to honor the victims.

With rising energy prices and poor-quality stoves giving way to natural gas heaters, a large number of families in the Kurdistan region have installed gas cylinders in their houses to heat their homes, that are usually done through the largely unregulated private sector. Infrastructure incidents are common in Iraq and the Kurdistan region, which suffers from poorly enforced safety standards.