Emergency crews at the scene of the fire.
(CNN) –– At least 100 people have been killed and 150 others wounded in Iraq after a fire broke out at a wedding in the village of Qaraqosh in Hamdaniya district, state news agency INA reported, citing local authorities.
The wedding hall had 1,300 guests at the time of the fire, Iraqi Joint Operations Command spokesman Maj. Gen. Tahseen Al Khafaji told CNN.
The Government of Iraq said it declared a three-day period of national mourning for the tragedy.
Earlier, Iraq's Civil Defense said in a statement that at least a dozen people were killed.
The disaster at the Al Haytham wedding hall in northeastern Nineveh governorate was due to fireworks, candles and other materials used during the celebration, the statement added.
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Nineveh Governor Najm Al-Jubouri told INA news agency that the wounded were taken to hospitals in Nineveh and the Kurdistan Region.
"There is still no final count of the dead and wounded," Al-Jubouri said, according to state media.
Videos from the scene show thick smoke billowing from the building as crowds and ambulances gather outside.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani asked the interior and health ministers to do everything possible to help those affected by the fire, according to a statement from his office.
The Iraqi leader has been in telephone contact with the governor of Nineveh about the incident and ordered a full mobilization to help the victims, according to his office and the INA.
The bride and groom are devastated but safe, says guest
The bride and groom at the wedding are devastated but safe, a guest at the event told Iraq's private Alawla TV.
"The bride and groom are fine. I've just been with them now, but their condition is devastating because of what happened to the people here."
The wedding hall lacked safety requirements
The wedding hall was covered with highly flammable Ecobond panels that violated the requirements of safety instructions, Iraqi state news agency INA reported citing the Iraqi Civil Defense.
The statement said: "The wedding hall was covered with highly flammable Ecobond panels that violate safety instructions and were referred to the judiciary in accordance with Civil Defense Law No. 44 of 2013 due to their lack of safety requirements for wet alarm and fire suppression systems in the Al-Hamdaniyah Area in Nineveh Governorate."
"The fire caused parts of the room to collapse as a result of the use of highly flammable, low-cost building materials that collapse within minutes when the fire starts," the statement also read.
UN sends condolences
The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq on Tuesday expressed its condolences to the families of those killed and injured in a wedding fire in the Hamdaniya district of northeastern Iraq.
"Shocked and pained by the horrific loss of life and injured in the fire in Nineveh's Hamdaniya. An immense tragedy," the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq in X, formerly known as Twitter, said Wednesday.
-- CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq, Nechirvan Mando and Aqeel Najim contributed to this report.
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