Landslide hits Shi'ite shrine in Iraq, killing at least four

A man reacts as Iraqi rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble following a landslide that hit Qattarat al-Imam Ali shrine on the outskirts of the holy city of Kerbala, Iraq August 21, 2022. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani

KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - At least four people were killed after a landslide demolished a Shi'ite Muslim shrine in the central Iraqi province of Kerbala, the health ministry said on Sunday.

Rescue workers pulled out six survivors from the rubble after the landslide, which occurred on Saturday, the statement said. The search and rescue operation was continuing in case more people remained buried under the rubble, it said.

The Qattarat al-Imam Ali shrine is located in the western desert, about 28 km (17 miles) from the centre of the holy city of Kerbala.

Initial information suggests that humidity had triggered the landslide, which hit the ceiling of the shrine and caused it to collapse, the civil defence service said in a statement.

(Reporting by Faris al-Sharifi and Amina Ismail; Editing by Gareth Jones)