CAIRO, Aug 14 (Reuters) – At the very least 41 individuals have been killed and 45 injured in a hearth inside a church within the Egyptian metropolis of Giza on Sunday, two safety sources advised Reuters.

{An electrical} fireplace broke out simply earlier than 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) throughout Mass as 5,000 individuals gathered on the Coptic Abu Sifin church within the Imbaba neighbourhood, the sources mentioned.

The fireplace blocked an entrance to the church, inflicting a stampede, they mentioned, including that the majority of these killed have been youngsters.

“Folks have been gathering on the third and fourth ground, and we noticed smoke coming from the second ground. Folks rushed to go down the steps and stared falling on prime of one another,” mentioned Yasir Munir, a worshipper on the church.

“Then we heard a bang and sparks and fireplace popping out of the window,” he mentioned, saying he and his daughter have been on the bottom ground and in a position to escape.

Electrical fires of this type should not a uncommon incidence in Egypt; in late 2020, a hearth at a hospital treating COVID-19 sufferers killed not less than seven individuals and injured a number of others.

Giza, Egypt’s second-largest metropolis, lies simply throughout the Nile from Cairo.

“I supply my honest condolences to the households of the harmless victims which have handed on to be with their Lord in one in every of his homes of worship,” mentioned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a tweet.

Maher Murad mentioned he left his sister on the church after prayers.

“As quickly as I acquired away from the church by solely 10 meters, I heard the sound of screaming and noticed thick smoke,” he mentioned.

“After the firefighter doused the fireplace, I recognised my sister’s physique. The our bodies are all charred, and lots of of them are youngsters, who have been in a nursery room within the church.”

(This story corrects location location in bullet level to Giza, not Gaza)

Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan
Writing by Nafisa Eltahir and Michael Georgy
Modifying by David Goodman and Raissa Kasolowsky

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