Fire at Cairo Coptic church kills 41, including 15 children

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A fire tore up a crowded coptic orthodox church during the morning service in the Egyptian capital on Sunday, quickly filling it with thick black smoke and killing 41 worshipers, including at least 15 children.

Some trapped congregations jumped from the upper floor of the Martyr Sefein Martyr Church to try to escape from a strong fire, an eyewitness said. “Dead died, died limply, everything died,” said a confused witness, who only gave a partial name, Abu Bishoy.

The cause of the fire in the Church in the Imbaba working class environment is not immediately known. The initial investigation pointed to a short circuit of electricity, according to the police statement.

The family cried waiting outside for news about relatives inside the church and in the nearest hospital where the victims were taken. Records of the scene circulated online show furniture that is burned, including wooden tables and chairs. Firefighters were seen extinguishing the fire while others brought the victim to the ambulance.

There are children, we don’t know how to contact them,” Abu Bishoy said. “And we don’t know his son, or his daughter. Is this possible? “

As many as 15 children were killed in the fire, according to Copts United, a news website that focuses on Christian news.

The list of victims obtained by the Associated Press said 20 bodies, including 10 children, were taken to the Imbaba General Hospital. Three siblings, twins are 5 and 3 years old, he said. Bishop of the Church, Abdul Still Bakhit, also among the people who died in the hospital morgue.

Mousa Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church, told the AP that the 5 -year -old three -year -old twins, their mothers, grandmothers and aunt were among those killed.

Witness Emad Hanna said a church worker succeeded in removing several children from the daycare for the Church’s daycare.

We went up and found the dead. And we began to see from the outside that smoke is getting bigger, and people want to jump from the top floor, “said Hanna.The minister of health of the country blamed smoke and invasion when people tried to escape from fire for causing death. It was one of the worst fire tragedies in Egypt in recent years.

This church is located on a narrow road in one of the most densely populated environments in Cairo. Sunday is the first working day in a week, and traffic jams clog the roads in the Imbama and its surroundings in the morning.

Some relatives criticized what they said was the postponement of the arrival of ambulances and firefighters. “They came after people died. … They came after the church burned, “shouted a woman standing outside the burning church.

Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghafar replied that the first ambulance arrived at the location two minutes after the fire was reported.

Fifteen fire trucks were sent to the scene to extinguish the fire while the ambulance transported the victim to the nearest hospital, the officials said.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi spoke by telephone with the Tawadros II Coptic Christian Pope to convey condolences, the President’s Office said. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Grand Imam Al-Azhar, also expressed his condolences to the Head of the Coptic Church.