The collapse took place late Saturday, with the rescue operation lasting more than 13 hours.

An AFP photographer reported that rescue workers laboured until morning to free those trapped in their vehicles under the twisted wreckage of the bridge on the main Karbala-Baghdad road.

Karbala's civil defence agency said they had "rescued seven people and recovered two bodies" from under the collapsed structure.

A health official in Karbala told AFP late Saturday that at least six people were injured, some of them from Syria and Afghanistan.

All the injured were transported to the nearest hospital in Karbala, where Shiite pilgrims from other countries often travel to visit holy shrines.

The health official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the "pillars of the bridge collapsed while several vehicles were passing underneath it".

As Iraq regains a semblance of stability after decades of conflict, many areas, particularly Baghdad, are witnessing a surge in construction and infrastructure projects, including the development of new bridges.

But safety standards in the construction sector are often neglected, and the country has experienced several accidents and fires.

In July, more than 60 people lost their lives when a fire tore through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut.