UPDATE: 18 children among dozens killed in Egypt church fire
Last edited Sun Aug 14, 2022, 03:05 PM - Edit history (2)
Source: CNN
(CNN) At least 18 children were among the dozens of people known to have died after a fire broke out at a church in Giza's Imbaba neighborhood in greater Cairo on Sunday, according to hospital documents seen by CNN. The children were aged 3 to 16 years old, according to the documents. The current death toll stands at 41 dead and 14 injured, said a statement from Egypt's Coptic Church that cited health officials.
The fire was started at about 9 a.m. local time by an electrical failure in an air conditioning unit on the church's second floor, the interior ministry said. The small church is located in the highly populated Imbaba neighborhood. At least two officers and three civil protection service members were injured responding to the fire, Egypt's interior ministry announced in a Facebook post. Most of the deaths and injuries were caused by smoke inside church classrooms after the electric failure, the interior ministry said.
Church officials also believe the fire was accidental, Ibrahim said. Egypt's Coptic community and churches have been a target of religious-based violence and attacks historically, with persecution and discrimination spiking since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011. The fire broke out during a Sunday service at the Abu Sefein Coptic church.
"We are in continuous contact with the local authorities and the Health Ministry," the head of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II said, according to the church spokesperson. Mariam Malak, 23, told CNN that she had left the church shortly before the fire broke out. "I left the church after Sunday mass and was on my way to work when my mom called me, she thought I was caught in the fire. I turned back and saw [the] church in flames. I just missed it by only a few minutes.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/14/africa/egypt-fire-intl/index.html
Previous update and headline -
(CNN) Children are among at least 41 people killed, and 14 injured after a fire broke out at a church in Giza's Imbaba neighborhood in greater Cairo on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the Egyptian Coptic Church citing health officials. It is unclear how many children were killed in the fire at at Abu Sefein church, but it was crowded with worshippers attending Sunday mass, Coptic Church spokesperson Archpriest Moussa Ibrahim said. One priest was among those killed, he said.
At least two officers and three civil protection service members were injured responding to the fire, Egypt's interior ministry announced in a Facebook post. The statement added that the fire started around 9 a.m. local time and was caused by an electrical failure in an air conditioning unit on the church's second floor.
Most of the deaths and injuries were caused by smoke inside church classrooms after the electric failure, the interior ministry said. Church officials also believe the fire was accidental, Ibrahim said. Egypt's Coptic community and churches have been a target of religious-based violence and attacks historically, with persecution and discrimination spiking since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011.
"We are in continuous contact with the local authorities and the Health Ministry," the head of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II said, according to the church spokesperson. Mariam Malak, 23, told CNN that she had left the church shortly before the fire broke out. "I left the church after Sunday mass and was on my way to work when my mom called me, she thought I was caught in the fire. I turned back and saw [the] church in flames. I just missed it by only a few minutes.
Original article and headline -
(CNN) At least 41 people were killed, and at least 14 injured after a fire broke out at a church in Giza's Imbaba neighborhood in greater Cairo on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the Egyptian Coptic Church citing health officials.
At least two officers and three civil protection service members were injured responding to the fire at Abu Sefein church, Egypt's interior ministry announced in a Facebook post.
The statement added that the fire started around 9 a.m. local time and was caused by an electrical failure in an air conditioning unit on the church's second floor. Most of the deaths and injuries were caused by smoke inside church classrooms after the electric failure, the interior ministry said.
"We are in continuous contact with the local authorities and the Health Ministry," the head of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II said, according to the church spokesperson. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi tweeted his condolences to the victims of the fire at Abu Sefein church.
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