A fire broke out at a church in Egypt, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people, many of whom were crushed during a desperate attempt to flee.
Officials estimate at least 41 fatalities and scores of injuries. It is thought that children are among the dead.
5,000 people gathered for Mass at the Coptic Abu Sifin church in Giza when an electrical fire broke out, according to security sources cited by Reuters.
According to them, the fire blocked an entry, prompting a stampede.
CNN reported that 18 youngsters ages 3 to 16 years old were slain, citing hospital data.
According to fire services, the actual cause of the incident is still unknown. However, Father Farid Fahmy from another neighboring church in the Imbaba neighborhood told the AFP news agency that the fire was caused by a short circuit.
He stated, “The power was down and they were using a generator.” When power was restored, it caused an overload.
Since the fire started, devotees have been describing their experiences.
“People gathered on the third and fourth floors, and we observed smoke emanating from the second floor. People ran down the steps and began to tumble on top of one another “Yasir Munir said to Reuters.
“Then we heard a loud bang and saw sparks and flames shooting out of the window,” he claimed, adding that he and his daughter were able to escape because they were on the bottom floor.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed his “deepest sympathies to the families of the innocent martyrs who have gone to be with their Lord in one of his places of worship.”
He has ordered the military to reconstruct the church.
The prosecutor’s office stated that it has dispatched an investigation team to determine the cause of the fire.
Giza is located just over the Nile from Cairo and is an integral element of the Greater Cairo metropolitan area.
There are at least 10 million Coptic Christians among Egypt’s 103 million inhabitants.
Copts assert they are subject to prejudice and have a less role in Egyptian public life than their numbers would indicate.
