A massive fire in a hypermarket in al-Kut city in eastern Iraq has left at least 69 people dead and 11 others missing, the city’s health authorities and two police sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Reuters’ footage of the aftermath of the overnight fire showed the blackened exterior of “Corniche Hypermarket” building, with rescue teams and security forces still at the site.

Videos verified by Reuters showed firefighters spraying water on the blazing building overnight and people climbing from the roof with the help of rescue teams.

“We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris,” city official Ali al-Mayahi told Reuters.

Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person told AFP that his five relatives died in an elevator.

Several people told AFP they lost family members, including mothers and children who had gone to shop and dine at the mall.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the province’s governor said initial results from an investigation would be announced within 48 hours, the INA state news agency reported. One survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded.

“We have filed lawsuits against the owner of the building and the mall,” INA quoted the governor as saying.

He told the news agency the victims included men, women and children.

A medical source in Kut told AFP there were “many unidentified bodies”.

An AFP correspondent reported seeing charred bodies at the province’s forensic department.

Civil defence teams rescued more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, which includes a restaurant and a supermarket, the interior ministry said.

Ambulances ferried casualties as late as 4am, with wards in Kut overwhelmed.

An AFP correspondent reported seeing distraught relatives waiting at the forensic department for news, some collapsing in grief.

One man fell apart, pounding his chest and screaming.

Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he lost five family members in the fire.

“A disaster has befallen us,” he told AFP.

“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.”

Lax safety regulations

Moataz Karim, 45, hurried to the mall at midnight, only to be met with the devastating news that three of his relatives were missing.

Hours later, he identified two relatives despite their charred bodies, one of whom had only begun working at the shopping centre three days ago.

“There is no fire extinguishing system,” he said in anger, as he waited for further news outside the forensic department.

Safety standards in Iraq’s construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, is often the scene of fatal fires and accidents.

Fires increase during the blistering summer as temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius.

In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked stampede for the exits.

In July 2021, a fire in the Covid-19 unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people.

The governor declared three days of mourning in Wasit province.

“The tragedy is a major shock … and requires a serious review of all safety measures,” he said.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a “thorough probe” into the fire to identify “shortcomings” and prevent further incidents.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Shia Islam’s highest authority in Iraq, offered condolences to the victims’ families.