An inmate has been killed during an attempted break-out from a police station in the town of Hawamdiya, Giza, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.
According to the ministry, Mohamed al-Gazzar died due to suffocating on tear-gas fumes as security forces attempted to stop prisoners breaking free from the police station's holding cells.
The incident began when a fight erupted among inmates, during which some prisoners tried to make use of the turmoil and escape, a media spokesperson for the ministry said.
Security forces fired warning shots to scare the prisoners, but later resorted later to firing tear gas and closing the building's main gate.
The ministry’s statement said one prisoner, Gazzar, was taken to hospital but died upon arrival, with signs of bruising on his body.
It did not explain the reason of Gazzar's physical injuries, noting that 17 others were treated for tear-gas inhalation and returned to the cells.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
