The blaze at the hotel, located in the city's east, started on Saturday afternoon. Around 700 guests of different nationalities were staying at the hotel, according to a statement from the local governorate. It added preliminary indications suggest those who died did so of suffocation.

A report from Egypt's state television station said the blaze had been started by an electrical short circuit, although that is yet to be confirmed by authorities. A number of Egyptians are believed to be among the dead.

Saudi Arabia's state news agency said firefighters took more than two hours to put out the fire, and that a nearby hotel had to be evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Medina, lying in Saudi Arabia's west, is a major pilgrimage destination for Muslims. Islam's second holiest city, behind Mecca, it is the burial site of the Prophet Muhammad.

ph/tj (dpa, Reuters, AP)