Fire at Iraq mall kills 69, prime minister orders probe

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

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but an initial police report suggested that the fire had first erupted on the floor where perfumes and cosmetics are sold.

“Raging fires trapped many people inside the mall, and everyone was desperately trying to find a way out,” said Ali Al-Zargani, whose house is next to the market building and who entered the premises after the fire had subsided.

“I saw the charred bodies of children and women lying on the ground — it was a horrifying scene.”