5 bodies recovered after shrine collapse in central Iraq

BAGHDAD

Five bodies have been recovered from the rubble in central Iraq after the collapse of a Shia Muslim shrine, authorities announced on Sunday evening.

"A major collapse occurred in the Qattara Imam Ali shrine, west of Karbala, and a number of visitors were trapped under the rubble, some of them alive," said Taher Al-Zubaidi, the provincial head of civil defense in Karbala, according to the official Iraqi News Agency.

After receiving the "tragic news of the incident," President Barham Salih on Twitter urged rescue teams to "put in efforts" to reach the victims.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi on Monday offered his condolences to the families of the victims and directed Interior Minister Othman Al-Ghanmi to follow up on the course of the rescue operation.

In a separate statement, the Directorate of Civil Defense said: "Rescue teams continue excavation operations in partnership with the elite search and rescue team."

The civil defense directorate has indicated that the cause of the incident was a buildup of moisture in the earthen berm adjacent to the shrine, leading to the collapse on a number of visitors.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report