Fire at Egypt furniture factory kills 25 – health ministry

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a furniture factory in al-Obour, east of Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 28, 2015.

At least 25 people were killed and 24 others were injured today in a major fire at a three-storey furniture factory on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital.

The Egyptian interior ministry confirmed in a statement the number of dead and injured people, noting that the fire was extinguished with the help of 23 firefighting vehicles.

Twenty-four others sustained burns in the blaze in the town of Al Obur, in the city of Qaliubia, north of Cairo, the ministry said.

The furniture factory did not have safety clearances, according to source quoted by the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA).

The fire swept through the factory and its warehouse after a gas cylinder exploded, security officials said. Local media reported that firefighters had gained control of the blaze in the afternoon by using about 20 fire trucks.

Another 22 people were injured by the fire in El Obour, an industrial city about 35 km (22 miles) northeast of Cairo, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said.