Updated 02:13 | Published at 01:28
At least 100 people have died in a fire at a wedding in the Iraqi city of Al-Hamdaniyah and another 150 people have been injured, according to regional authorities.
A spokesperson for the health authority in the northwestern province of Nineveh, to which Al-Hamdaniyah belongs, told the state news agency INA that they “counted over 100 dead and more than 150 injured”, referring to a preliminary figure.
A picture from the scene shows how firefighters work to put out the fire in the party room where the wedding was held, reports the BBC.
According to early information, the fire should have broken out after fireworks were set off in the party room. The course of the fire itself is also feared to have gone quickly as a result of flammable panels in the room, the Iraqi Civil Defense told the state news agency INA, according to the BBC.