A fire that tore through a shopping centre in the Iraqi city of Kut has left at least 60 dead, officials said.
The blaze at the mall, which had reportedly opened five days ago, broke out on Wednesday night and has since been brought under control.
Social media videos showed firefighters rescuing people from the mall’s roof, but state media reported that many are still missing.
“A tragedy and a calamity has befallen us,” regional governor Mohammed al-Miyahi said, adding that legal action would be brought against the shopping centre’s owner.
The governor has also declared three days of mourning.
Videos on INA’s news channel show flames ripping through several floors of the Corniche Hypermarket in the city’s centre, as firefighters try to douse them.
Other clips circulating on social media appear to show a small number of people on the roof during the fire, as well as the burned out insides of the centre.
A number of people were rescued from the building by firefighters, al-Miyahi told local media.
Ambulances were still taking casualties to hospitals in the city, which is about 160 km (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad, at 04:00 local time.
“The tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified,” the interior ministry said in a statement quoted by news agency AFP.
Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, told AFP he lost five family members in the blaze.
“A disaster has befallen us,” he said. “We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home.
“An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted and we couldn’t escape it.”
A medical source told the agency: “We have more than 50 martyrs, and many unidentified bodies”.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, with preliminary findings expected within two days, al-Miyahi said.
“The tragedy is a major shock,” he said, adding that a “serious review of all safety measures” would take place.
The shopping had opened just five days ago, AFP reported.
Safety standards are often poorly observed at Iraqi construction sites, which have face decades of mismanagement and corruption.
In 2023, a fire swept through a Christian wedding party in northern Iraq, killing more than 100 people.
More than 90 people died in the Iraqi city of Nasiriya after a fire in a Covid isolation ward at a hospital in 2021.