Rescue workers searched Friday after a tank explosion that killed at least 11 people and collapsed a house, according to local authorities.

The blast in Sulaimaniyah occurred on Thursday evening and left at least 11 dead and 13 injured, Saman Nader, the city’s emergency center chief, told AFP.

He blamed “a gas leak from a tank” for the explosion.

Much of Iraq’s war-ravaged infrastructure is in disrepair, and tragedy is a daily occurrence. The country also suffers from poorly enforced safety standards, particularly in the transportation and construction sectors.

Nader said four people have still not been extricated from the rubble of the collapsed three-storey house in the second largest city of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region.

“Our teams have been working for more than 15 hours to rescue the people trapped under the collapsed house,” Nader said.

Local residents watched on Friday morning as rescue workers, aided by an excavator, continued rescue efforts between collapsed white brick and twisted metal.

The blast shattered windows and blackened the facade of a neighboring building.

An earlier toll issued by Sulaimaniyah health authorities on Friday morning had reported 10 deaths.

At least one child is among the victims, said Sulaimaniyah Governor Haval Abu Bakr, who declared a day of mourning.

At least nine people were killed and 13 others injured when a tanker carrying gas accidentally exploded in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in late October.

In April 2021, more than 80 people died in a fire at a Baghdad hospital when improperly stored oxygen cylinders exploded.