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Agence France-Presse

Associated Press

More than 40 people were killed in a blaze that broke out during a Sunday mass in a Coptic Christian church in a suburb of Egypt’s capital Cairo, church officials said.
The blaze, blamed on an electrical fault, occurred at the Abu Sifine church in the capital’s northwestern, working-class district of Imbaba.
An electrical fire broke out just before 9am (07:00 GMT) during mass as 5,000 people gathered at the church, security sources said.
The fire blocked an entrance to the church, causing a stampede, they said, adding that most of those killed were children.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared on his Facebook page: “I have mobilised all state services to ensure that all measures are taken.”
Fire services later said the blaze had been brought under control.

The Egyptian Coptic Church reported “41 dead and 14 injured” citing “sources in the Ministry of Health”, in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
The prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation and sent a team to the scene to establish the cause of the blaze.
The interior ministry later said that “forensic evidence revealed that the blaze broke out in an air-conditioning unit on the second floor of the church building”.

Father Farid Fahmy, of another nearby church in Imbaba, told AFP the fire was caused by a short circuit.
“The power was out and they were using a generator,” he said. “When the power came back, it caused an overload.”
Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East, making up at least 10 million of Egypt’s 103 million people.
The minority has suffered attacks and complained of discrimination in the majority Muslim north African country, the Arab world’s most populous.
Christians tell of carnage in bombed Egyptian church
Copts have suffered deadly attacks at the hands of Islamists, particularly after Sisi overthrew former Islamist president Mohammed Mursi in 2013, with churches, schools and homes burnt down.
Copts feel they have been left out of key state positions and deplored restrictive legislation for the construction of churches compared to that of mosques.
Sisi, the first Egyptian president to attend the Coptic Christmas mass every year, recently appointed a Coptic judge to head the Constitutional Court for the first time in history.
Sisi said Sunday he had “presented his condolences by phone” to Coptic Pope Tawadros II, who has been the head of Egypt’s Christian community since 2012.
Egyptian couple went on hunger strike over ‘abuse’ at detention centre
Accidental fires are not uncommon in the sprawling megalopolis of Cairo, where millions of Egyptians live in informal settlements.
Egypt, with its often dilapidated and poorly maintained infrastructure, has suffered several deadly fires in recent years.
In March 2021, at least 20 people died in a blaze in a textile factory in an eastern suburb of Cairo.
In 2020, two hospital fires claimed the lives of 14 Covid-19 patients.


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Africa

Cairo fire kills 41 during mass in Coptic Christian church

Security members stand at the scene where a deadly fire broke out at the Abu Sifine church in Egypt on August 14. Photo: Reuters

The blaze started for unknown reasons at the Abu Sifine church in the capital’s northwestern, working-class district of Imbaba. Photo: Reuters

Forty-one people died in the blaze while another 14 were injured. Photo: AP

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The Egypt court where two monks, Wael Saad and Ramon Rasmi Mansour, were convicted of murdering Bishop Epiphanius in 2018. Photo: Reuters

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi attends a military ceremony in the courtyard at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. French President Emmanuel Macron was meeting with el-Sissi on Tuesday during a three-day visit to France focusing on economic cooperation and the fight against extremism. (Charles Platiau, Pool via AP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 24, 2018, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), shakes hands with US President Donald Trump (R) at the start of a bilateral meeting in New York. - Trump will host his al-Sisi at the White House on April 9, 2019, to discuss military, economic and counterterrorism cooperation between their countries. The pair "will discuss strengthening the strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt and building on our robust military, economic and counterterrorism cooperation," the White House said in a statement. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP)

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Supporters of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi say he has stabilised Egypt and needs more time to reform and develop the economy. Photo: AFP

Mosque massacre: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to respond with ‘brutal force’ after 305 killed

Egyptians carry victims on stretchers following a gun and bombing attack on the Rawda mosque near the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish on November 24, 2017. Armed attackers killed at least 235 worshippers in a bomb and gun assault on the packed mosque in Egypt's restive North Sinai province, in the country's deadliest attack in recent memory. / AFP PHOTO / -

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (not pictured) and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus November 21, 2017. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Egypt’s leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi makes ambitious, controversial call for reform in Islam

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi (centre), the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, (right) and Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, (left) pray on the first day of Eid ul-Fitr in this file picture from October. Photo: AP

Muslims rest as they wait for the Friday noon prayer at al-Azhar mosque in Cairo. Photo: AP

Sisi (second right) stands next to Coptic Pope Tawadros II (second left) as he addresses the congregation during a Christmas Eve Mass at St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo. Photo: AP

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World


The fire, blamed on an electrical fault, has been brought under control
Copts, the largest Christian community in the Middle East, have suffered deadly attacks at the hands of Islamists



Copts, the largest Christian community in the Middle East, have suffered deadly attacks at the hands of Islamists particularly after former Islamist president Mohammed Mursi was overthrown in 2013.


Egypt

Religion

History

Cairo fire kills 41 during mass in Coptic Christian church

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The fire, blamed on an electrical fault, has been brought under control Copts, the largest Christian community in the Middle East, have suffered deadly attacks at the hands of Islamists

The fire, blamed on an electrical fault, has been brought under control

Copts, the largest Christian community in the Middle East, have suffered deadly attacks at the hands of Islamists