Many of them "suffocated to death in toilets", according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad. Among the dead are about ten charred bodies that have not yet been identified.
We have more than 50 martyrs and many unidentified bodies, a hospital source told the news agency AFP before the Ministry of Interior's statement.
Children are among the dead, according to local authorities in the province of Wasit.
The fire in al-Kut in eastern Iraq broke out late on Wednesday, according to the provincial governor Mohammed al-Miyahi, who has declared three days of mourning in the province. In unverified videos on social media, the building is seen being engulfed by fierce flames while sirens wail incessantly. In other clips, relatives collapse from grief and despair outside the city's hospital.
We went to the shopping center to have dinner and escape the power outages at home, says the doctor Nasir al-Quraishi, who lost five family members in the fire, to AFP.
When the fire broke out, there was nowhere to flee, says the doctor.
At four in the morning, ambulances were still driving back and forth between the shopping center Hyper Mall and the hospital in al-Kut, which is said to be filled to capacity with injured people. AFP's correspondent testifies to charred bodies at the hospital.
The cause of the fire is still unclear and an investigation has been initiated. According to AFP, the facility was inaugurated just a few days ago.
