CAIRO, Aug 14 (Reuters) – An Egyptian Coptic Christian church was electrocuted during a service on Sunday, causing a stampede and killing at least 41 people, most of them children and many suffering from smoke inhalation.
The fire started at 9 a.m. in the Abu Sifin church in Giza, where about 1,000 people had gathered.
The fire blocked the entrance to the church and caused a stampede, two sources said, adding that most of the dead were children.
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“People were gathering on the third and fourth floor and we saw smoke coming from the second floor. People were hit to go down the stairs and started falling on top of each other,” said worshiper Yasir Munir.
“Then we heard a bang, sparks and fire coming out of the window,” she said, adding that she and her daughter were on the first floor 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 7 people.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement that the forensic examination showed that the fire started as a result of a malfunction in the electrical wiring in the air conditioner on the second floor.
A mother of three who died in a fire at Abu Sif’s church reacts before a funeral for herself and other victims inside the Church of Saint Mary in Warrag Al Arab, Egypt’s Giza province, Egypt, August 14, 2022 REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
The main cause of death was smoke inhalation, it is said. According to the statement of the Cabinet of Ministers, 100 thousand Egyptian pounds ($5,220) will be given to the families of the dead.
Giza, Egypt’s second largest city, lessons across the Nile from Cairo.
“My sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims who died to be with their Lord in one of the houses of worship,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on his Twitter account.
Maher Murad said that he left his sister in the church after the prayer.
“As soon as I was only 10 meters away from the church, I heard a scream and saw thick smoke.
“After the firefighters extinguished the fire, I recognized my sister’s body. All the bodies were burned and most of them are children from the church’s kindergarten.”
“I don’t know if it was an electrical fire or what happened, but there were children and old people, we were able to save them,” said Kirollos, speaking from the hospital where he was treated for his injuries.
The funeral of those who died in the fire was held at the cemetery in Giza on Sunday evening.
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Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan and Sayed Sheasha Writing by Nafisa Eltahir and Michael Georgy Editing by David Goodman, Raissa Kasolowsky and Nick Macfie
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