Qatar's interior ministry has said that 19 people were killed, including 13 children, after a large fire broke out at a major shopping mall and entertainment complex in the capital Doha.
The ministry said on Monday that four teachers and two firefighters were among those killed in the fire, while at least 17 others were injured.
"Most of them (the injured) were from the civil defence," the ministry said on its Twitter account.
Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the scene, said that the firefighters had to go through the roof of the mall to get to the nursery where the children were trapped.
"The Gympanzee nursery, where most of the children were, is on the first floor with difficult access," our correspondent said.
Dekker said that the cause of the fire was not confirmed, and authorities were still investigating.
The fire was thought to have started in the nursery, but it was unclear as to what caused it.
At the evening press conference, the minister of the interior expressed his condolence for those that died in the fire, and said that most of the injured were firefighters from the civil defence operation.
Footage posted online showed black smoke billowing from the shopping centre as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.
The Villagio is one of the country's largest and most popular shopping malls, containing a cinema, an ice rink and an amusement park.
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