Iraqi parliament forms committee to probe Karbala bridge collapse

BAGHDAD — Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani on Tuesday ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the Sept. 6 collapse of an under-construction bridge in Karbala’s Husayniyah district.

The panel is chaired by MP Haider Mohammed Kadhim al-Matlabi, with MPs Hussein Ali Mohammed al-Sabari, Dhahir Jaber Ali Mesoon al-Khafaji, Midhat Hassan Atwan al-Moussawi, and Jawad Khudhum Mutlak al-Sabari named as members. The group has five days to deliver its findings.

Parts of the bridge collapsed on Sept. 7, injuring six people and crushing several cars in the Atiyshi area. Videos shared online showed large concrete spans collapsing as civil defense teams pulled victims from the rubble.

The Karbala health department said three Syrians, two Afghans, and one Iraqi were hospitalized with stable conditions.

Local officials quickly attributed the collapse to a “twist in one of the iron spans of the project during the sudden passage of two vehicles.” Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a joint investigative committee, and arrest warrants were issued under Article 340 of the penal code for six people, including five engineers and a traffic officer. The charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.