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28.05.12

Qatar's Interior Ministry has said that 13 children were among 19 people killed in a fire that broke out in an upscale shopping malls late Monday morning.

Some of the victims died as rescuers struggled to reach a child care centre at the Villaggio mall in the capital Doha, according to Minister Sheik Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani.

Four of the children killed were Spanish citizens living in the small Arab emirate, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said.

A 3-year-old French child was also among the victims.

"We tried our best, but when we got there, the children were trapped inside. We are very sorry for what happened. We tried as much as we could to save these people," Sheik Abdullah told reporters in Doha.

Four teachers and two civil defence officials were reported among the dead, the ministry said on its official Twitter page.

Another 17 people were injured, including four children.

Most of those hurt were rescuers responding to the blaze.