Qatar's interior ministry has confirmed that four Spanish children have died after fire broke out in a nursery in a major shopping mall and entertainment complex in the Qatari capital Doha.

The blaze at the Villagio centre has killed at least 19 people, 13 of them children.  Four teachers and two firefighters are also known to be amonst the dead, and at least 17 people have been injured.

Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the scene, said that the firefighters had to go through the roof of the mall to get to the nursery where the children were trapped.

"The Gympanzee nursery, where most of the children were, is on the first floor with difficult access".

Dekker said that the cause of the fire was not confirmed and authorities were still investigating.  The blaze is thought to have started in the nursery, but it is still unclear as to what caused it.

The Villagio is one of the country's largest and most popular shopping malls, containing a cinema, an ice rink and an amusement park.