The Armed Forces Engineering Authority began restoration work at the Church of Abu Seifein in the Imbaba Airport area, north of Giza, which caught a massive fire, Sunday.
Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church received a phone call on Tuesday from head of the of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority Hisham al-Swaify who offered his condolences over the incident.
The Coptic Orthodox Church announced the death of 41 people and the injury of 14 others as a result of a big fire that broke out in the Church of Abu Seifein in the Imbaba Airport area, north of Giza, during the Divine Liturgy, on Sunday morning.
Security and judicial sources revealed that the initial examination of the criminal lab and the Public Prosecution, stated that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the generator feeding the church, which led to the spread of the fire to the rest of the church.
A statement from the Interior Ministry said that “Examination of the forensic evidence agencies revealed that the fire broke out in an air conditioning on the second floor of the church building, which includes classrooms, as a result of an electrical fault, and this led to the emission of a thick amount of smoke, which was the main cause of injuries and deaths.”
On Monday, the Ministry of Social Solidarity announced the start of paying compensation to the families of the victims and injured in the accident.
The family of the deceased will receive LE 100,000, the injured who spent more than 72 hours in the hospital will recieve LE 20,000, and those who spent lesser period will get LE10,000.
