At least 7 killed as fire breaks out at Covid-19 hospital in Egypt

A blaze has ripped through a private hospital treating coronavirus patients on the outskirts of Cairo. The disaster left at least seven dead and injured several others.

The fire broke out at around 9am local time at Misr Al Amal Hospital in El Obour, some 35km northeast of the Egyptian capital. It reportedly started in the intensive care ward on the building’s second floor.

Several fire trucks were deployed to the scene, and they swiftly got the fire under control and extinguished it. Meanwhile, the patients were evacuated and transferred to a public hospital elsewhere in the city.

According to the results of a preliminary investigation, the fire was caused by an electric short-circuit, security sources told local media.

A similar incident occurred in Egypt in June. Back then, seven died in a blaze in the coronavirus ward of a hospital in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

The North African country has witnessed a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases over the past week. According to official data, there have been 130,126 infections and 7,309 coronavirus-related deaths in Egypt since the start of the pandemic. However, the authorities have noted that since the testing process has been insufficient, the actual figures could be much higher.

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