On 13 August 2022, a fire broke out at the Abu Sefein Church, a Coptic church in the Imbaba neighborhood of Giza on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. The fire started during Sunday worship services when nearly 5,000 worshippers were gathered. 41 people died during the fire, including at least 18 children. One of the church's priests, Abdul Masih Bakhit, was among those who died in the fire.
Background
The church is named
for Saint Mercurius, known in Arabic as Abu Sefein, and it is one of the
largest churches in Giza. Egyptian law strictly regulates construction in
churches, historically requiring a presidential decree to gain a building permit.
Due to the difficulty in gaining
approval for projects, unauthorized construction is widespread, often without
following fire safety regulations. It had initially been converted into a church
without a permit, though it was retroactively legalized.
Description of the Fire
The Ministry of
Interior said that the fire was caused by a faulty air-conditioning unit
on the second floor of the church. According
to the Ministry of Health most of the deaths were due to smoke
inhalation or being trampled in the stampede to escape the building. The church hosts a nursery in its fourth
floor. A neighboring church's priest
said that children were taken to higher floors to escape the blaze instead of
being evacuated. Eyewitnesses reported
that people attempted to jump to safety from the upper floors to escape the
fire.
The response time of
firefighters to this incident is not clear. The Health Ministry said the first
fire truck arrived two minutes after the first reports of a fire were received,
however, relatives of those trapped in the church said that paramedics and
firefighters were slow in reaching the site, and one witness said it took two
hours for a fire truck to arrive. Bystanders
reportedly rushed into the church to help evacuate those trapped until the
fire's intensity and smoke became too overwhelming. Eyewitnesses reported that the fire began at
8:00 AM and lasted for two hours.
Victims
The fire resulted in 41
deaths and 45 non-fatal injuries. Security
services reported that at least 18 of the deceased were children. One local hospital's records showed 20 bodies
received, among them 10 children, while another local hospital received 21
bodies.
Response
The fire's death toll
was among the largest in Egypt's recent history, and the country's top
prosecutor ordered an investigation into the blaze. While Egypt's Copts have
faced discrimination, attacks, and religious violence, both the church
authorities and the Egyptian state agencies believe the fire to be accidental. Electrical fires occur often in Egypt, where
building and inspection standards are inadequate and poorly enforced. Multiple fires have occurred in public areas
throughout Egypt, including the 2002 El Ayyat railway fire which
resulted in 370 deaths; a 2020 hospital fire that killed seven patients; and
the 2021 Cairo clothing factory fire that resulted in 20 deaths.
President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi issued a statement expressing his regret, saying, "I
offer my sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims that have
passed on to be with their Lord in one of his houses of worship," Prime
Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that each deceased person's
family would be given 100,000 Egyptian pounds in compensation, while
those injured would be given up to 20,000 Egyptian pounds, and the Minister of
Social Solidarity further announced that al-Azhar Mosque and other
civil society groups would be offering an additional 50,000 Egyptian pounds to
the victims and their families. Al-Azhar
Mosque expressed its condolences, and the grand imam of al-Azhar Ahmed
El-Tayeb offered his sympathy to the Coptic pope Tawadros II. Mohamed Salah, captain of the Egypt
national football team, also tweeted his condolences, and made a donation of
three million Egyptian pounds to help rebuild the church.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giza_church_fire
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