At least 61 people, including women and children, have been confirmed dead after a devastating fire swept through a newly opened five-storey shopping mall in eastern Iraq.
Iraqi officials confirmed that the majority of fatalities from the incident were caused by suffocation due to smoke inhalation from the burning commercial establishment.
The blaze, which broke out late Wednesday inside the complex housing a restaurant and supermarket in the city of al-Kut, also left 14 bodies so badly burned they remain unidentified.
Despite the tragic loss of life, civil defence teams were said to have successfully rescued over 45 individuals trapped within the inferno.
Footages obtained from the scene showed firefighters rescuing people from the mall’s roof, but state media reported that many are still missing.
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 tragedy and a calamity has befallen us,” regional governor Mohammed al-Miyahi, who declared a three-days mourning said, adding that legal action would be brought against the shopping centre’s owner.
“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.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani expressed condolences to the families of victims.
He has also asked the interior ministry to launch an immediate investigation into the fire’s causes, as well as to identify shortcomings and “to take all necessary strict measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents”.
