At least 69 dead and dozens injured in a fire at a shopping mall in Iraq.

BarcelonaAt least 69 people died and another 40 were injured in a fire at a shopping mall in the Iraqi city of Kut, local media reported, citing health sources. The fire at the mall, which local sources have identified as the Corniche Hypermarket Mall and which opened just seven days ago, started on Wednesday night, but is now under control. Images released by the INA news channel and several social media users show firefighters trying to extinguish the flames and some civilians perched on the roof of the five-story building.

The death toll could rise, as Reuters reports that at least 11 people are still trapped under the rubble. They have been taken to a hospital in the city, about 160 kilometers south of Baghdad. Most of the deceased "suffocated in the bathrooms due to the dense smoke," while fourteen bodies were found "charred," according to the Iraqi Interior Minister, Abdulamir al-Shammari, who also reported the situation. Civil Defense has managed to rescue more than 45 people trapped inside the building.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but authorities have announced the creation of a "high-level" investigation committee to discover "the true causes of the fire" and to identify "precisely and transparently" the areas they have defined. The results of the preliminary investigation are to be made public in the last few hours. -BK_SLT_LNA- An air conditioning unit exploded on the second floor and then caught fire, and we were unable to escape.

The lack of safety measures is a scourge that has plagued Iraq for years and has caused major accidents. a city in the north of the country.