NINEVEH, Iraq — At least 100 people were killed and 150 more injured in a fire at a wedding celebration in the district of Hamdaniya in Iraq’s Nineveh Province, Iraqi state media reported early on Wednesday, with local sources saying the toll was expected to rise.
The fire ripped through a large events hall in the northeastern region after fireworks were lit during the celebration, the local civil defense said, according to state media.
Video from a Reuters correspondent at the site showed firefighters clambering over the charred wreckage of the building in search of survivors.
Preliminary information indicated that the building was made of highly flammable construction materials, contributing to its rapid collapse, state media said.
Ambulances and medical crews were dispatched to the site by the federal authorities and the authorities in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdistan region, according to official statements.
This is a developing story and will be updated.