At least 52 people were killed and 22 others injured in a fire likely caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a COVID-19 hospital in the city of Nassiriya in Iraq.

This is the second such deadly blaze in Iraq in three months.

The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital late on Monday and was brought under control by local civil defence forces.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held urgent meetings with senior ministers and ordered the suspension and arrest of health and civil defence managers in Nassiriya, his office said in a statement. The manager of the hospital was also suspended and ordered to be arrested, the statement added.

People reacted to the news of the fire by rushing angrily to the hospital and protest the poor condition of the health system.

Iraq's healthcare system has struggled to cope with the coronavirus crisis, which has killed 17,592 people and infected more than 1.4 million.