An Egyptian Coptic Christian church in Giza, during Mass on Sunday, witnessed an electrical fire spread and kill at least 41 people. Most who died were children and many suffered from smoke inhalation.
Abu Sifin church in the capital’s northwestern, working-class district of Imbaba, where about up to 1,000 people had gathered, saw the blaze start before 9am. The entrance to the church was blocked by the fire resulting in a stampede which claimed the lives of many children.
“People were gathering on the third and fourth floor, and we saw smoke coming from the second floor. People rushed to go down the stairs and started falling on top of each other,” said church-goer Yasir Munir.
“Then we heard a bang and sparks and fire coming out of the window,” he said, saying he and his daughter were on the ground floor and were able to escape. Electrical fires are not rare in Egypt. In late 2020, a fire at a hospital treating COVID-19 patients killed at least seven people, reported Reuters.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry in a statement said that a forensic examination showed that the fire started in the second-floor air conditioning as a result of an electrical malfunction. Smoke inhalation was the main cause of death, it said. Families of those who died will receive 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($5,220), according to a cabinet statement.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took to his Facebook page saying that “I have mobilised all state services to ensure that all measures are taken”.
Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East. The community makes up at least 10 million of Egypt’s 103 million population.
Giza is Egypt’s second-largest city and lies just across the Nile from Cairo.
