Egypt Cairo Coptic church fire, 41 dead
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 Ambaba district of Al-Giza city.
Children are also among the dead and most of them are said to have died in the stampede.
According to Security sources 5,000 people were gathered for worship at the Coptic Abu Sufin Church on Sunday when a fire broke out, initially blamed on an electrical fault, but the exact cause is still unclear. do not have.
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 Imbaba area said that the cause of the fire was a short circuit.
He said, ''The electricity was out and they were using a generator (in the church).'' When the electricity came, it caused an overload.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said, "We express our condolences to the families of those who died, these people died at the place of worship of God and went to Him."
A statement from the prosecutor's office said a team had been sent to the church to investigate the fire.
Worshipers present have given details of the moments after the fire. According to Reuters, Yasir Munir said, "People were gathering on the third and fourth floors and we saw smoke coming from the second floor."
''People rushed downstairs but there was a 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.
Al-Jiza is located a short distance from the Nile River and is part of the Greater Cairo city.
Coptic Christians make up 100 million of Egypt's population of 103 million.
The community claims that they continue to face discrimination in the country and do not play a role in public life that befits their numbers.