A 25-year-old cook who was making chicken soup for a wedding in northern Iraq on June 15 died as a result of burns he sustained when he slipped and fell into the vat, according to several Middle Eastern media outlets.
Issa Ismail, a married father of three, was preparing food in the kitchen of Hazel Hall for Weddings and Events in Zakho District when the freak accident occurred, United Arab Emirates (UAE) News reported. He had been working as a cook for about eight years at the time.
Zakho District rests within the parameters of Iraqi Kurdistan, also known as the Kurdistan Autonomous Region of Iraq, according to The Kurdish Project. The district’s chief attraction is Zakho City, a metropolis that is home to 190,000 people and several major national landmarks, including Delal Bridge and Zakho Castle, according to the University of Zakho. It is known as a popular emigration destination because it offers a wealth of professional opportunities, the university stated.
Following the accident, Ismail was rushed to a hospital in the nearby city of Dohuk for treatment. While hospital staff tried to save his life, Ismail succumbed to his injuries on June 21. Reportedly, he suffered third-degree burns to more than 70 percent of his body.
The news of Ismail’s death reportedly sparked an outpouring of sadness on national social media, prompting his father, Muhammad Ismail, and a male relative, Zervan Hosni, to speak up, according to MiddleEast.in-24.
“The deceased…cooked food at wedding parties, mourning boards and various ceremonies, and for two years he has been working in two party halls for 25,000 dinars per day,” Hosni told Rudaw Media Network, MiddleEast.in-24 reported. He noted that “Issa was the father of two daughters and a 6-month-old son.”
One dinar is roughly equivalent to 0.00068 U.S. dollars, making 25,000 dinars roughly equivalent to $17.12 U.S. dollars.
On social media, mourners emphasized the need for increased enforcement of safety precautions in commercial kitchens, according to Gulf News.
In a somewhat similar, but less tragic, case, American woman Stella Liebeck sued McDonald’s after the fast-food chain sold her a cup of coffee that had been heated to 170 degrees in New Mexico on February 27, 1992. When Liebeck held the cup between her knees to remove the top, the coffee spilled into her lap, inflicting second- and third-degree burns on her buttocks, thighs and labia. She required multiple hospitalizations for treatment and received skin grafts.
This content was originally published here.