Fire at Coptic church in Cairo kills at least 41, injures 55: Official
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An electrical fault in a generator is suspected to be the cause of a Coptic church fire this morning in Egypt near Giza, leaving 41 dead, and the death toll is feared to keep rising.
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Firefighters arrive at the fire scene (ahram.org)
A huge fire at a Giza church Sunday morning killed at least 41 people and injured at least 55 others.
After speaking with health officials about the casualty toll, the Church said the blaze blasted through the Abu Sefein church in the densely populated neighborhood of Imbaba, across the Nile river from Cairo.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but an initial investigation by police named an electrical short-circuit as the cause of the fire and the Health Ministry Spokesperson Hossam Abdel-Ghafar said ambulances have transferred at least 55 injuries to hospitals.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi spoke by phone with the Coptic Pope Tawadros II to offer his condolences, according to the President’s office.
Copts make up about 10% of Egypt’s predominantly Muslim population.
This is a developing story.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
