Deadly fire breaks out at Tunisia's Ennahda party headquarters

At least one person has been killed and 18 injured in a fire at the headquarters of Tunisia's Ennahda party in capital Tunis

There was no official reason yet for what caused the fire on Thursday, the country's civil protection agency said.

Ennahda said one of its members was killed in the fire but did not give details.

Two senior party officials were also among the injured in the blaze at the building in the capital, Tunis, according to Ennahda members and witnesses.

Ali Laarayedh, Ennahda’s deputy head and a former prime minister, was wounded when he jumped to safety from the second floor, according to party leader Noureddine Bhiri.

Abdelkarim Harouni, speaker of the party’s Shura Council, also suffered injuries in the blaze.

However, both officials are now in stable condition, Bhiri added. Firefighters and police are at the scene

READ MORE: Over 100 members from Tunisia's Ennahda step down amid political crisis

Cause of fire unknown

Videos circulating on social media showed smoke rising from the building as firefighters and paramedics rushed to rescue people.

Bhiri said the fire broke out on ground floor and spread to the upper floors.

He said there was no information available yet on the cause of the fire.

“We don’t know if this fire was an act of arson or not,” he added.

One party member told Reuters the fire resulted from a short-circuit in the main meetings hall. 

However some other members said the blaze started when a man set himself on fire, without giving details of his identity.

The Arab Spring —  a wave of protests calling for more democracy across the Arab world — was famously sparked in Tunisia 11 years ago when a street vendor set himself on fire.