The bride and groom were slow-dancing when "fireworks started to climb to the ceiling (and) the whole hall went up in flames", according to one survivor.

"We couldn't see anything," 17-year-old Rania Waad told news agency AFP, choking back sobs.

"We were suffocating, we didn't know how to get out."

Raniaa Waad's account supports preliminary findings by Iraqi civil defence authorities on the cause of last night's fire.

It is not yet clear if the bride and the groom are among the victims

Image source, Reuters

Preliminary information suggests fireworks were to blame for the fire, said Iraqi civil defence authorities in a statement.

They added that the danger was compounded by "release of toxic gases linked to the combustion of the panels", which contained plastic.

"The fire caused some parts of the ceiling to fall due to the use of highly flammable, low-cost construction materials," said news agency AFP, quoting the statement.

The wedding party fire underscores how safety standards are often disregarded in the country where decades of conflict have left its infrastructure in despair.

More than 60 people perished in a fire that ripped through the Covid unit of a hospital in the south in July 2021. Three months before that, 80 people died after exploding oxygen tanks set fire to a hospital in the capital of Baghdad.

Here's a quick map to show you where this has taken place - in the city of Qaraqosh in northern Iraq, just 30km south-east of Mosul.

The city of Qaraqosh used to be in ISIS- controlled territory, that was liberated after the Battle of Mosul in 2017. Residents who had fled had returned.

Now the city is grappling with this latest disaster.

Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani has ordered an investigation into the fire.

He also asked officials from the Interior and Health ministeries to mobilise all efforts to provide relief to those affected by the fire, his office wrote on X, external, formerly known as Twitter.

A large crowd has formed outside a hospital where survivors of the wedding hall fire are being treated - with relatives anxiously gathered for news of their loved ones.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Iraqi Red Crescent Society

More than 450 were killed and injured from the wedding fire, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent Society's post, external on X, formerly Twitter.

The IRCS is an independent humanitarian aid organisation in Iraq.

Najim al-Jubouri, the governor of Nineveh province where the fire broke out, said earlier that there were no final casualty figures yet, suggesting the death toll may still rise.

Nineveh Deputy Governor Hassan al-Allaq had also earlier told Reuters that 113 people had been confirmed dead.

One survivor of last night's inferno recounted how flames engulfed the wedding hall in northern Iraq.

"We saw the fire pulsating, coming out of the hall. Those who managed got out and those who didn't got stuck," Imad Yohana, a 34-year-old who escaped the fire told the Reuters news agency.

"Even those who made their way out were broken."

Video from Reuters show firefighters clambering over the ruins as they searched for survivors.

Ambulances and medical crews were sent to the site by Iraqi authorities, according to official statements.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the rescue operations in Iraq, after a fire broke out at a wedding party north of the country.

Here's what you need to know for now:

• More than 100 people were killed and 150 more were injured in the fire
• The bride and groom are thought to be alive but in hospital with burns
• The fire reportedly broke out at around 10:45 local time (19:45GMT) in Qaraqosh district in Nineveh province
• The cause of the blaze is still unclear, but Iraq's civil defence said initial reports suggest it happened after fireworks were lit
• Flammable panels in the building may have helped the flames spread, causing parts of the ceiling to fall down

Stay with us as we bring you the latest news updates from across the day.