CAIRO, Aug 14 (Reuters) – An electrical fire swept through an Egyptian Coptic Christian church during mass on Sunday, sparking a stampede and killing at least 41 people, most of them children and many from smoke inhalation.
The fire started just before 9 am at the Abu Sifin church in the city of Giza, where some 1,000 people had gathered.
The fire blocked an entrance to the church, triggering the stampede, the two sources said, adding that most of the dead were children.
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
“People were gathering on the third and fourth floors, and we saw smoke rising from the second floor. People rushed down the stairs and started falling on top of each other,” said faithful Yasir Munir.
“Then we heard a bang and sparks and fire coming out the window,” he said, saying he and his daughter were downstairs and were able to escape.
Electrical fires are not uncommon in Egypt. In late 2020, a fire at a hospital treating COVID-19 patients killed at least seven people.
In a statement, the Home Office said a forensic examination showed the fire started in the second-floor air conditioner as a result of an electrical malfunction.
Mother of three children, who died during the fire that broke out in the Abu Sifin church, reacts before the funeral of them and other victims inside the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Warraq Al Arab district in Giza Governorate , Egypt, August 14, 2022 REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Smoke inhalation was the leading cause of death, he said. The families of the deceased will receive 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($5,220), according to a cabinet statement.
Giza, the second largest city in Egypt, is located across the Nile from Cairo.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the families of the innocent victims who have passed away to be with their Lord in one of his houses of worship,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a tweet.
Maher Murad said he dropped his sister off at the church after prayers.
“As soon as I got away from the church for just 10 meters, I heard the sound of screaming and saw thick smoke,” he said.
“After the firefighters put out the fire, I recognized my sister’s body. The bodies were all charred, and many of them are children who were in a nursery at the church.”
“I don’t know if it was an electrical fire or what happened, but there were children and old people, we saved those we could save,” said Kirollos, who spoke from a hospital where he is being treated for injuries.
A funeral was held for those killed in the fire at a Giza cemetery on Sunday night.
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan and Sayed Sheasha Writing by Nafisa Eltahir and Michael Georgy Editing by David Goodman, Raissa Kasolowsky and Nick Macfie
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
