At least 41 people are killed in an Egyptian Coptic church fire during Sunday prayers.
At least 41 people are killed in an Egyptian Coptic church fire during Sunday prayers.
The building's second story, which also included classrooms, is thought to have been the source of the fire in greater Cairo. It was believed that a few kids were among the dead.
CAIRO — According to the nation's Health Ministry, a fire that started in a Coptic Orthodox church in greater Cairo as attendees gathered for Sunday prayers claimed the lives of at least 41 individuals and injured over a dozen others.
One of the largest churches in the Giza municipality, Abu Sefein Church had one of the deadliest fires in recent memory. According to a statement from the Egyptian Interior Ministry, it is thought that a malfunctioning air conditioner on the building's second story, which also held classrooms, was to blame.
Father Mikhael Guirguis, the deputy head of the Northern Giza archdiocese, reported seeing children among the dead to a church-affiliated TV station. When the fire started, children were taken to the top floor of the building rather than being evacuated, according to a second priest from a nearby church who also talked to the same TV station.
According to the Health Ministry, the majority of the fatalities and injuries were brought on by smoke inhalation and a stampede that occurred as people rushed to escape the blazing structure. The fire was reported to be under control by the Interior Ministry.
The Times authenticated video footage from the site, which showed churchgoers yelling for rescue from windows as heavy black smoke billowed from the structure. People could be seen trapped on the church's roof as the fire engulfed them in other videos.
The church is located in the crowded area of Imbaba, where some of the locals have voiced criticism of the emergency services and government reaction. In video from the scene that Al Jazeera shared, a woman claimed that it took two and a half hours for rescue personnel to arrive.
An irate throng was shown in video taken outside one of the hospitals where victims were receiving care. Their anger's origin was not immediately apparent. Mostafa Madbouly, the prime minister of Egypt, and other prominent figures were visiting the injured patients in the hospital.
According to the Health Ministry, the majority of the fatalities and injuries were brought on by smoke inhalation and a stampede that occurred as people rushed to escape the blazing structure. Credit... Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
According to a statement from the president's office, Pope Tawadros II and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi spoke on the phone on Sunday and expressed their condolences.
El-Sisi declared on Twitter, "I am attentively monitoring the circumstances of the unfortunate catastrophe." "I gave the go-ahead for all necessary action from all pertinent governmental agencies and institutions."
Hamada el-Sawy, the nation's top prosecutor, declared that he has commissioned an investigation into the fire.
The government's emergency response, as well as its fire-safety standards and regulations, have come under scrutiny as a result of the frequent flames that sweep over Egypt in recent years and result in major casualty occurrences.
When a fire broke out aboard a night train racing across the vastness of Upper Egypt in 2002 and flames raced from vehicle to car, at least 370 people were killed. In 2005, a candle that fell during a performance of "Hamlet" caused a fire in a state-owned theater in the city of Beni Suef, which resulted in at least 31 fatalities.
The Upper House of Egypt's Parliament was destroyed by fire in 2008, inflicting at least 10 injuries. At least 20 persons were murdered in a fire at a clothing business close to Cairo in March 2021. Additionally, nine coronavirus patients in the cities of Alexandria and Giza perished in two separate hospital fires that occurred in 2020 and 2021.
Ten percent of Egypt's 100 million people, who are primarily Sunni Muslims, are Coptic Christians. The minority population is regularly the target of pervasive prejudice and violent attacks, notably those carried out by the Islamic State branch in Egypt's Sinai Province.
One of the largest churches in the Giza municipality, Abu Sefein Church had one of the deadliest fires in recent memory. Credit... the Associated Press' Tarek Wajeh
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