Iraqi firefighters struggling to extinguish the oil wells ignited jihadists

Iraqi firefighters struggling to extinguish the oil wells ignited jihadists

November 20, 2016



Alkierh- (AP): Red-helmeted Kamamathm thin, exhausted firefighters come out of a giant cloud of smoke coming from the semi-continuous oil well lit by organizing an Islamic state in northern Iraq in August / August to block the advancement of government forces.

Since those early morning trying to pump water into the well near Qayyarah, a small town in the Iraqi desert, 70 km to the south of the city of Mosul.

Besides oilfields engineers, police officers, firefighters worked around the clock to put out more than a dozen oil wells ignited the organization of the Islamic state to block the advance of government forces to Qayyarah during their quest to regain control of Mosul, the last stronghold of the organization of the Islamic state in Iraq.

This led to further escalation of black smoke columns Sam over three months, hid everything in and around the Qayyarah thick layer of soot.

You could barely see the shadow of firefighters as they stand at the well burning near Qayyarah, where he was afraid of sunlight by the black smoke rising over the area.

In that place, the trucks fill a nearby water tank, it is pumped in the post through the collection manually by workers at the site when the pipeline each well.

When they came out of the terrible wave of smoke, firefighters cast jokes themselves, but they say he is not allowed to speak to the press.

-"Deplorable condition"

But it seemed that the fire suppression complicated and dangerous process.

Says Saleh Ahmed Khadr, a worker at the site, "In the beginning, the federal police verification of mines may be left Daesh at the entrances to the wells."

Once the scan area is relatively control the fire, the firefighters "to put the tube on the wellhead to pump water in it, and covered with dust," according to Ahmed, who suggests wearing a blue suit stained with black spots, secondly Kamamth thin under his chin.

The whole process could take up to a month, and was only put out two wells out of 19 burning.

Ahmed says, "God, I'm tired and my body is destroyed."

According to the United Nations Environment Program, the burning of crude oil "offers citizens the toxic fumes that cause serious health problems such as skin irritation and shortness of breath."

Therefore, Searta extinguishers and first aid stands ready nearby.

He says the police officer Ali Mohammed Ismail, in charge of guarding the place, "The ambulance is there to treat cases of suffocation or improvised explosive devices."

On Saturday, a colleague of Muhammad was killed after stepping on a mine near the well, which firefighters are currently trying to control them.

Mohammed, who remained his family in part under the control of the organization of the Islamic State in Mosul, points out, "I've been here 15 days, working 24 hours a day."

He adds, "all diseases poisoned here, this is a very bad scene, and a deplorable state."

LINK