Egypt church fire, 41 dead

Egypt church fire, 41 dead. 'People ran downstairs but there was a stampede on the stairs'

Egypt church fire

According to the Ministry of Health of Egypt, at least 41 people have died and 14 have been injured due to a fire in the Abu Safin Church in the Ambaba district of Al-Giza city.

Children are also among the dead and most of them are said to have died in the stampede.

Security sources told Reuters news agency that 5,000 people were gathered for worship at the Coptic Abu Sufin Church on Sunday when a fire broke out, initially there is said that this incident was due to an electrical fault, but the exact cause is still unclear.

According to the sources, due to the fire, the entrances were blocked, after which there was a stampede in the place of worship. Fire services say the fire has been brought under control. However, while speaking to the news agency AFP, Father Farid Fahmi in a nearby church in the Imbaba area said that the cause of the fire was a short circuit. "The power was out and they were using a generator (at the church)," he said. When the electricity came, it caused an overload. Worshipers present have given details of the moments after the fire. Speaking to Reuters, Yasir Munir said, "People were gathering on the third and fourth floors and we saw smoke coming from the second floor." "People ran downstairs but there was a huge stampede on the stairs and they started falling on top of each other." "After that, we heard an explosion and then we saw flames coming out of the windows," he said, adding that he and his daughter were on the lowest floor, so they managed to save their lives.

Church After Fire