Aftermath of Al-Ahram Studio Fire (Photos)

Egypt woke up to a scene straight from a disaster movie early Saturday, after a massive fire broke out at the country's oldest film studio and damaged one of the industry's most valuable properties.

Some 50 firefighters were called to Al-Ahram Studio, where many classic film and television productions were filmed, in the Omraniya area, Giza Governorate.

The fire, which was first reported at around 02:19 am and contained by 9:11 am, broke out inside a location filming set of Egyptian actor Mostafa Shaban's TV series “Al Moalem".

The Civil Protection dispatched to the scene 6 tanks, 2 winches, a fire hose, and fire engines. Security services cut off electricity and gas from the area surrounding the studio until the fire was put down.

The Civil Protection evacuated the residents from their residences after the blaze reached the palm trees and destroyed them. The fire had spread to 6 properties surrounding the burning property.

Medical sources said that the fire had not resulted in any deaths but left several people suffering from suffocation due to the intense smoke. They received medical treatment and their conditions were improved.

It was not immediately clear how the fire started, but a member of Civil Protection said that the fire spread quickly due to highly flammable materials and wood. The authorities launched an investigation to find out the reason behind the accident.

 Al-Ahram Studio was founded by the Greeks Apapakhlos Avramosis and Paris Belvis in 1944 during World War II.

The historic studio holds almost the same approach as Studio Misr and covers an area of 27 thousand square meters. It includes three plateaus, a showroom, a recording hall, and a film development plant.

All of the studio's cinematic equipment, including cameras, projection, development, lighting, and sound, were made in Egypt.

Al-Ahram Studio shot more than 500 film and television productions during its long history, including films "EL Haraba", "Ibn Hamidu", "Ashat Lil-Hob", "Hayah aw Moot" and TV shows "Hadret Al-Motaham Aby", "King Farouk", "Al-Marsa wel Bahar", "Hadith Alsabah wa Almasaa", and "Arabesque".