Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) At least 41 people have been killed in a hospital fire in the southeastern Iraqi city of Nasiriya, Dr. Ammar al-Zamili, the spokesperson for the local health department, told CNN. At least five people were critically injured. The fire on Monday night is believed to have started after oxygen tanks exploded in an ICU treating Covid-19 patients, al-Zamili said. "The civil defense teams managed to control and put out the major fire that broke out at al-Hussein hospital in the city with the help of health workers and neighborhood volunteers," al-Zamili told CNN. Al-Zamili and other health officials could not say how many people were inside the building when the fire broke out but said an operation is continuing to evacuate people "if they are still alive," including health workers.

Source: CNN July 12, 2021 23:03 UTC