Egypt: 41 people died in a fire in a church

At least 41 people have died after a fire broke out at a Coptic Christian church in the Egyptian city of Giza. According to the foreign news...

At least 41 people have died after a fire broke out at a Coptic Christian church in the Egyptian city of Giza.

According to the foreign news agency 'AFP', a fire broke out in the Abusfin church located in Gunjanabad neighborhood of Ambaba due to an electrical fault.

Eyewitnesses said there were horrifying scenes as people rushed to the multi-storied synagogue to rescue those trapped inside the church.

Ahmad Reda Bayomi, who lives near the church, said that everyone was taking the children out of the building but the fire was spreading.

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The Coptic Church and the Health Ministry said 41 people died and 14 were injured before the fire was brought under control by emergency services.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on his Facebook page that he has mobilized all state services to ensure necessary measures in this regard.

After this incident, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also spoke on the phone with the Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II to offer condolences.

He later said he called Pope Tawadros II, who has been head of the Coptic Orthodox Church since 2012, to express his condolences.

According to AFP, the governor of Giza ordered 50,000 pounds (about 2,600 dollars) for the families of the dead and 10,000 pounds for the injured.

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The imam of Jamia Al-Azhar, Egypt's largest Muslim institution, expressed his condolences over the tragic accident and offered to treat the injured at Al-Azhar hospitals.

The interior ministry said forensic evidence revealed that the fire started in an air-conditioning unit on the second floor of the church building.

Farid Fahmi of another church near Ambaba told AFP that the fire was caused by a short circuit.

They said that the power was cut off and they were using the generator, when the power came back it overloaded the generator.

Egypt has had several fatal fire accidents in the past few years due to dilapidated and poor infrastructure.

In March 2021, at least 20 people were killed in a fire at a textile factory in a suburb of Cairo.

Similarly, in 2020, 14 patients of Covid-19 died due to fire in 2 hospitals.

Last Monday, a fire broke out in a church in Cairo's Heliopolis district, but there were no casualties.

Pakistan expresses regret for the loss of precious lives

Pakistan has expressed regret, sympathy and solidarity for the loss of precious lives in the tragic incident of fire in Egypt.

According to the official news agency 'APP', according to the statement issued by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, Pakistan expressed its sincere regret for the loss of precious lives as a result of the fire in the Abu Safin Church in Egypt.

He further said that we express our heartfelt sympathy with the affected families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured, Pakistan expresses solidarity with the government and people of Egypt in this difficult time.