A view of the Kurdish city of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, in this Oct. 18, 2002 file photo.

A fire at a hotel in the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region killed 19 people and injured dozens more on Friday, officials said.

Fourteen of the dead were from the Philippines, while three Iraqis, a Palestinian and another person of unknown nationality also died, said Saman Barzanji, director general of the Erbil health department.

Dozens more were injured and taken to hospital in Erbil, said Fakher Harki, the department’s spokesman.

Nawzad Hadi, the governor of Erbil province, said preliminary information indicated that the cause of the fire was an electrical problem in a sauna. The fire took place at the four-star Capitol Hotel where rooms cost from $100-$240 per night.

The hotel’s website says it has a 740-square-metre (2,580-square-foot) spa that includes saunas and a pool.

Photos and video posted on social media showed dark grey smoke pouring from windows on the top floor of the building.

The Kurdistan region in north Iraq has largely been spared the deadly violence that plagues other parts of the country.

The region is frequently visited by tourists from other areas of Iraq and various countries in the region.

A hotel fire in Sulaimaniyah, another city in Iraqi Kurdistan, killed 30 people in July 2010.

The city’s hospital said people from 12 different nations died in that fire, including some who jumped to their deaths from upper-floor windows while trying to escape the flames.

Related articles across the web

• KRG Exported 602k bpd Oil in January
• From Rojava Peshmerga to training troops in Bashiqa; What Turkey seeks in Iraqi Kurdistan?
• White House: Turkey Must Remove 'Unauthorized' Troops From Iraq
• Iraq Kurds repel major ISIS offensive
• Wealthwatch Wednesday Morning Chat 12-16-15
• Taking the Fight Back to Islamic State
• Iraq's Kurdish ruling party slams terrorist PKK group
• Friends With Benefits: What's Behind Turkey's Odd Alliance With Iraqi Kurds
• 42 ISIS elements killed in clashes with Peshmerga forces east of Mosul