At least two dead as multi-storey building collapses in Iraq capital Baghdad

At least two people were killed when a four-storey building collapsed in the Karrada district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday morning, a security source told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Baghdad's civil defence directorate said on Saturday morning that 13 people had been rescued from the ruins of the building, which had reportedly been home to the National Laboratory for Pathological Analysis.

The directorate said on Saturday afternoon that the rescue operation was still ongoing.

It is not yet clear what caused the collapse, but buildings in Iraq are often constructed without proper official oversight due to state corruption and mismanagement.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, a local official told The National.