The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah late Monday and was brought under control by local civil defence forces.

Another health official, Haydar al-Zamili, told AFP that the "fire... ripped through the Covid isolation ward".

Five others were injured, "including two in critical condition," added Zamili, spokesman for the local health authorities.

"The victims died of burns and the search is continuing," he said, noting that there were fears victims could still be trapped inside the building. The ward itself has space for 60 patients.

Dozens of young demonstrators boisterously protested outside the hospital after the deadly blaze.

"The (political) parties have burned us," they shouted in unison.

The lethal blaze also sparked furious calls on social media demanding action and the resignation of top officials.

Local authorities imposed a state of emergency in Dhi Qar governorate, of which Nasiriyah is the capital, and ordered doctors on leave to help treat the injured.

- 'Failure to protect lives' -

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi held an emergency meeting with ministers and security heads to "find out the causes" of the fire, his office tweeted early Tuesday.

"The catastrophe of Al-Hussein Hospital is clear proof of the failure to protect the lives of Iraqis, and it is time to put an end to this," wrote Mohamed al-Halbousi, Iraq's Parliament Speaker, on Twitter.

Iraq's interior ministry said on Facebook late Monday that the fire tore through temporary structures erected next to the main building, but did not specify the cause.

Sixteen people have been rescued from the blaze, a medical source said late Monday.

Videos shared online showed thick clouds of smoke billowing from the Al Hussein hospital.

In April, a fire at a Baghdad Covid-19 hospital killed 82 and injured 110, sparked by the explosion of badly stored oxygen cylinders.

Many of the victims in the April fire were on respirators and were burned or suffocated in the resulting inferno that spread rapidly through the hospital, where dozens of relatives were visiting patients in the intensive care unit.

The April fire sparked widespread anger, resulting in the suspension and subsequent resignation of then health minister Hassan al-Tamimi.

Iraq -- where the oil-reliant economy is still recovering from decades of war and insurgency, and where many people live in poverty -- has recorded over 1.4 million Covid cases and more than 17,000 deaths.

Much of the country's health infrastructure is dilapidated and investment in public services is limited by endemic corruption.

Since the virus vaccine rollout began in March, Iraqi health authorities have fully inoculated only around one percent of the country's roughly 40 million people.

Earlier on Monday, a minor fire broke out at the health ministry's headquarters in Baghdad, but it was quickly contained with no fatalities recorded.

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