CAIRO (AP) — A building in Egypt’s Nile Delta partially collapsed following a fire that broke out Friday at dawn, killing at least eight people and injuring 29 others, according to officials.
An electrical short circuit caused a boiler to explode and a fire to break out on the second floor of a dye business in el-Mahalla city, which is known for textile manufacturing, in Gharbia province. That led to the partial collapse of the building, said the governor’s media office in a statement.
Gov. Ashraf al-Gendy, who visited the site, said in a statement that emergency response crews fully contained the fire and removing destroyed parts of the building, but rescuers are still trying to pull out three people from under the rubble. Their conditions are unclear.
The labor ministry said in a statement that some members of the civil defense personnel died while extinguishing the fire. One of the injured is in intensive care, eight are still in the hospital and the others have been treated and released, according to the governor’s office.
In July, a fire engulfed the main telecom company building in downtown Cairo, injuring at least 14 people and prompting a temporary outage of internet and mobile phone services.
