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At least a hundred people have been killed and more than 150 injured in a fire at a wedding reception in Iraq. The state news agency INA reported this on Wednesday evening, citing the Ministry of Health in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh. According to the Rudaw TV channel, Ahmed Dubardani, deputy head of the local health authority, spoke of 500 injured.

Images of the disaster showed a collapsed and burnt-out hall in the city of Al-Hamdanija. In social media videos intended to show just before the fire, burning parts of the room’s paneling fall from the ceiling. Wedding guests jump up from tables and try to get to safety. The bride and groom on the dance floor look like they are in shock.

Civil Defense explained that the hall used for weddings was equipped with cheap, highly flammable cladding. These are said to have violated safety requirements. There was also no mandatory alarm system. The fire caused the hall to collapse. Rescue workers searched for survivors among the rubble of the hall. Crowds of people gathered in front of the accident site overnight.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani has ordered the Ministries of Interior and Health to provide all possible assistance to those affected. (sda/dpa)