Egypt began the funeral of the 41 victims of the Abu Seif Church fire in Greater Cairo, while the Ministry of Interior revealed the reason behind the tragedy.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health confirmed that the death toll in the fire that broke out in the church located in the Imbaba area of ​​Giza Governorate in Greater Cairo reached 41 people, including children, in addition to the injury of 12 people.

The ministry said - in a statement on Sunday - that the deaths came as a result of suffocation as a result of the thick smoke rising from the fire and the stampede of the victims as they tried to escape.

In its statement, the ministry stated that the examination of forensic evidence revealed that the fire broke out in an air-conditioning device on the second floor of the church building - which includes a number of classrooms - as a result of an electrical fault, and this led to the emission of a dense amount of smoke that was the main cause of deaths and injuries.

The Ministry of Health stated that the injured were transferred to Imbaba General Hospital and Agouza Hospital, and the state of readiness was raised in the hospitals in Giza and Cairo governorates, in addition to providing all blood types and emergency medicines to the injured.


The body of twenty victims of the fire was buried on Sunday evening from the Church of the Virgin and Archangel Michael in the Warraq area of ​​Giza, in the presence of the victims' families.

The spokesman for the Egyptian Church had announced that the bodies of the victims would be buried in two batches from the Church of the Virgin and the Angel in the Warraq area, after performing ecclesiastical prayers over them and bidding them farewell to their final resting place.

Electrical fault

Security sources said that the fire that broke out at nine in the morning local time was the result of an electrical fault with the church's generator, which led to a stampede of worshipers, who numbered more than 5,000 people.

The fire blocked the exit door from the prayer hall, which led to the charring of some bodies. The sources also stated that the majority of the dead were children, and that among the injuries were two officers and 3 members of the civil protection forces.

For his part, the Egyptian Public Prosecutor, Hamada El-Sawy, announced the formation of a large investigation team into the fire of the church located in Al-Munira area in Imbaba, and it immediately moved to inspect it and start investigation procedures, according to a statement by the Public Prosecution.

Abu Sefein Church had a large number of worshipers at the time of the accident (Anatolia)

Al-Sisi is following and Al-Azhar mourns the victims

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi wrote - on his official Facebook page - "I am closely following the developments of the painful incident in Al-Munira Church in Giza Governorate," adding: "I directed all concerned state agencies and institutions to take all necessary measures, and immediately deal with this incident and its effects and provide all health care for the injured.

Al-Sisi also phoned Coptic Pope Tawadros II, according to the official spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, Bassam Radi, and assured him that "all state institutions will provide the necessary support to contain the effects of this painful incident."

Pope Tawadros II affirmed that the Church is following with grief the tragic incident that occurred in the Abu Sefein Church in Imbaba.

As for the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb, he mourned the victims of the fire, and stressed - in a statement - Al-Azhar's readiness "to provide all aspects of support alongside state institutions for the injured, and the readiness of Al-Azhar hospitals to receive the injured while providing them with psychological support."

Compensation for the families of the victims

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly headed to visit the injured in the accident at the head of a large ministerial delegation, and confirmed that the government would provide all means of health care and support for the injured and the families of the victims.

Madbouly announced the disbursement of 100,000 pounds to the family of each deceased, and 20,000 pounds to the family of each injured, and stressed that his government would continue to support the injured, and said, "We made sure that the injured in the church accident received the best medical care."

The Egyptian Public Prosecutor stated that there is no evidence on the bodies of the victims or injuries that indicate causes of death other than suffocation (Anatolia)

In the same context, Giza Governor Ahmed Rashid decided to disburse an "urgent aid of 50 thousand pounds (about 2,600 dollars) to the families of the deceased, and 10 thousand pounds to the families of the injured."

Successive Egyptian governments have always ignored mentioning the number of Copts in the country, but the Church talks about a percentage ranging between 10 and 15% of the population of about 105 million.

Saint Abu Sefin

Saint Philopateer Mercurius, known as "Abu Sefein," is considered one of the saints of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and he named many churches and monasteries, including the Abu Sefein Church in Giza.

And Egyptian websites quoted - according to church sources - that he was nicknamed "Abu Seifen" because an angel of the Lord appeared to him and gave him a sword next to his military sword, and this sword was the secret of his strength.

According to the St-Takla website, which specializes in the heritage of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Abu Sefin was born in the year 224 AD, to pagan parents who named him Philopateer, meaning “the lover of the father.” His father Yaros was a Romanian officer and Philopateer a successful and brave soldier.