At least 38 people were injured after a fire broke out early Monday in a police headquarters in northeastern Egypt.
The fire ripped through the police facility in the Suez Canal province of Ismailia before firefighters contained the blaze, according to Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry.
He said that 12 of the injured people were treated at the site, while 26 others were taken to hospitals. All but two suffered from breathing difficulties and seven people were treated and discharged.
A total of 50 ambulances and two military aircraft were dispatched to the scene to transport people to the hospital.
Local media says it was not immediately clear how many police officers were in the building and the number of people injured could increase.
Videos circulating social media show flames engulfing the building.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. According to the local MENA news agency, witnesses said that firefighters initially struggled to control the fire but, after three hours they managed to contain it.
The Minister of Interior, Major General Mahmoud Tawfiq, said he was following up on the firefighting efforts and checking on the injured officers. He said a committee was set up to investigate the fire.
Egypt has suffered several deadly fires in recent years. Safety standards and fire regulations are poorly enforced and has caused many disasters.
In August 2022, a fire erupted in a Coptic church killing 41 worshippers, and in March 2021, at least 20 people died in a blaze in a textile factory.
According to Egypt’s official statistics agency, there were more than 49,300 fires in Egypt in 2022, which resulted in 203 deaths and injuries to 855 people.
