At least 41 killed and dozens injured as blaze rips through church in Egypt

A church fire in Egypt which started during a Sunday service has killed at least 41 people and left dozens injured.

Several ambulances rushed to the scene in Giza as firefighters battled to extinguish the flames.

According to local media, many of the victims at the Abu Sifin church – which has a nursery – are thought to be children.

The Egyptian health ministry said deaths are still being counted.

The electrical fire broke out as 5,000 worshippers gathered for mass at the church in the Imbaba neighbourhood, causing a stampede, Reuters sources said.

Footage circulated online showed burned furniture, including wooden tables and chairs. Firefighters were seen putting out the blaze while others carried victims to ambulances.

“People were gathering on the third and fourth floor, and we saw smoke coming from the second floor. People rushed to go down the stairs and stared falling on top of each other,” said Yasir Munir, a worshipper at the church.

“Then we heard a bang and sparks and fire coming out of the window,” he said, saying he and his daughter were on the ground floor and able to escape.

Maher Murad said he left his sister at the church after prayers.

“As soon as I got away from the church by only 10 meters, I heard the sound of screaming and saw thick smoke,” he said.

“After the firefighter doused the fire, I recognised my sister’s body. The bodies are all charred, and many of them are children, who were in a nursery room in the church.”

Egypt’s Interior Ministry said it received a report on the fire at 9am local time, and that they found that the blaze broke out in an air conditioner on the building’s second floor.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he is closely following the developments of the incident in Giza, the second largest city in the African nation.

“I closely follow the developments of the painful accident in Al-Munira Church in Giza Governorate, and all the institutions of the concerned state have directed to take all necessary measures, and immediately to deal with this accident and its effects and to provide all aspects of healthcare to the injured,” Mr al-Sisi said.

He added: “My sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims who moved to their Lord’s neighbor in a house from his homes where he is worshipped.”

The president’s office added that Mr al-Sisi has been in contact with the Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II to offer his condolences.

Egypt’s Christians account for some 10 per cent of the nation’s 90 million people and have long complained of discrimination by the nation’s Muslim majority.

Sunday’s blaze was one of the worst fire tragedies in recent years in Egypt. In March last year, a fire at a garment factory near Cairo killed at least 20 people and injured 24 more.