Nineteen people were killed in a tragic fire that swallowed parts of the Villagio Mall in Doha, Qatar around midday on Monday. The fire reportedly started in the shopping mall's nursery, resulting in the death of at least 13 children, many of whom were born to expat parents.

Below is a point-by-point summary of the Villagio fire details.

- Qatar's Interior Ministry told reporters 13 children died in the tragic blaze, three of them were New Zealand-born triplets.

- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has confirmed that two-year-old Kiwi triplets were among those killed in the fire.

- Six adults perished, bringing the death toll to 19. The six adults were teachers and defence personnel, according to reports.

- Former New Zealand journalist Tarek Bazley, who was inside the Villagio when the fire started, told the AAP he heard a rather soft alarm that sounded like a doorbell. When he asked, he was told by an attendant that "it's usually a false alarm."

- Mr Bazley later told AAP, "The Ministry for the Interior, which runs the Civil Defence and the Fire Brigade, said they didn't know where that nursery was. They had no plan of the mall."

- Initial reports indicate that some sprinklers and fire alarms in the mall did not operate properly during the fire.

- The Doha News and Al Jazeera reported that children from Spain, France, Japan, South Africa and the Philippines were also killed, though no official confirmation has been released.

- Three teachers from the Philippines and one teacher from Africa have also reportedly died in the blaze.

- Doha temperature was at around 40 degrees Celsius when the fire broke around noon local time.

- The Villaggio was opened for commercial business in 2006. It is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and recreation places.

- Doha Mums, the shopping centre nursery, said in its website that it took care of children aged between 12 months and four years old.