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A Dubai-based company, Terraseis, which conducts geological surveys for the oil industry, said in a statement late Friday that eight of its employees were killed in the fire. "This is a tragic situation and our hearts go out to all those who are impacted," said the company. Despite Iraq's instability and struggling economy, the country -- especially the three provinces that make up the Kurdish region
-- is still a destination for migrant workers, mostly from Asia and Africa, said Jean-Philippe Chauzy, a spokesman for the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration. While the rest of Iraq has been plagued by violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Kurdish region has enjoyed relative stability, benefitting from a construction boom that has seen investors throw up houses, hotels and office buildings. The growth and stability in the region have also spurred a growing number of airlines to fly into the Kurdish region, some from as far away as Austria. Waleed Mohammed, marketing manager in Sulamaniyah for Lafarge SA, the world's largest cement maker, said some Kurdish businessmen who had worked in Europe or the Gulf states were bringing in workers from countries such as India or Bangladesh, in part because they were better trained than Kurdish workers. However, the lack of fire escapes at the building raises questions about the Kurdish building boom and whether corners are being cut in pursuit of economic growth. "There is too much building going on in Sulamaniyah without enough government oversight," said one builder in the city, Arass Karim Wali. "Most of them have no safety regulations, especially in the hotels and the markets."
[Associated
Press;
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