A total of 12 people were injured in a huge fire that broke out Sunday in many buildings at Hussein district in Cairo, amid fears that it could reach the historic Al Hussein Mosque which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The fire started on the first floor of the building, extended to the second floor, and then to two adjacent buildings.
According to authorities, civil Protection Forces headed to the site and extinguished the fire. The cause of the fire is likely due to a short circuit in power cables.
The Ministry of Health deployed 10 ambulance vehicles and transferred the injured to Hussein Hospital to receive needed treatment.
The area known as Old Cairo or Islamic Cairo is where the famous Khan El-Khalili market is situated.
According to eyewitnesses, firefighters worked through the night to get the blaze under control and rescue civilians from burning buildings.
Witnesses say the fire broke out after a gas cylinder used for cooking and heating exploded. In 2019, a fire engulfed the Attaba vegetable market in Old Cairo, also because of an exploded gas cylinder, and destroyed more than a third of the market.
Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel Aal has ordered the swift removal of debris left behind by a huge fire that broke out in a shop and spread to the neighboring houses of Al Hussein Mosque in downtown Cairo following the inspection and criminal investigation procedures by the public prosecutors.
Due to low fire safety standards, there has been a string of deadly fires in Egypt over the past several months, particularly inside hospitals.
In December 2020, seven patients died and several others were injured after a fire engulfed a private hospital treating coronavirus patients on the outskirts of Cairo.
In June of the same year, seven patients also died in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Alexandria after a fire broke out.
In March 2021, 20 people died after a fire destroyed a four-storey textile factory north of Cairo.
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