(CNN) A fire in the Regent Plaza Hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, killed eleven people early on Monday morning, local time, and left another 75 injured, officials told CNN.

The fire, which broke out at 2.45 a.m., has been contained and fire department officials were at the scene investigating the situation, Mohammad Yaseen of the Saddar Fire Station told CNN.

Dr Seemi Jamali, who heads the Emergency Room at Jinnah Hospital, close to the hotel, said the deaths had been caused by suffocation and all injuries were linked to respiratory problems.

Pakistani volunteers help a foreigner to escape following a fire at a hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, December 5.

The Regent Plaza Hotel is a prominent landmark in Karachi and has been one of the city's most popular hotels since the 1970s.

Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, who was at the scene, told a press conference on Monday no senior employees from the hotel had been present at the scene.

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