CAIRO – President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has directed the Armed Forces Engineering Authority to repair the Abu Sefein church, which was damaged in a fire on Sunday that killed 41 people and injured 16.
The authority’s chief, Hisham El-Swefy, called Pope Tawadros II to advise him of the plot.
Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, has rushed to the help of the martyrs’ families, organising monetary disbursements with other NGOs.
Pope Tawadros II received a note of encouragement from Al-Tayeb.
“Al-Azhar and its scholars and sheikhs all stand by their brothers in this unfortunate event and express their heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families,” he stated.
Following the incident, El-Sisi had received condolence notes from the presidents of Tunisia and Lebanon.
Prosecutor General Hamada El-Sawy said that the Public Prosecution authority had finished its investigation into the incident and determined that the victims died from smoke inhalation.
According to El-Sawy, 41 individuals were killed and 16 others, including four police officers, were injured.
According to El-Sawy, the authorities had finished questioning the injured people.
The Egyptian Ministry of Interior acknowledged that the fire was started by an electrical failure and spread to the air-conditioning system on the second floor of the church building, which houses a number of classrooms.
Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, has authorized the Minister of Social Solidarity to pay EGP100,000 ($5,226) in compensation to each victim’s family and a maximum of EGP20,000 ($1,045) to each injured individual.
The Coptic Orthodox Church had stated that the fire broke out during the Divine Liturgy at the building in the north of Giza, and that some people were sent to the Imbaba and Agouza hospitals.
Source: AFP