5 die in Shubra factory fire, 3 in 6th October factory fire

A string of fatal factory fires and industrial accidents has claimed the lives of numerous workers in and around Cairo over the past few weeks.

The latest incident took place on Sunday, when a deadly fire in 6th of October City claimed the lives of three workers and injured several others at a paint factory.

On Saturday, a factory in Shubra al-Kheima that manufactures starch and glucose burned down, claiming the lives of five workers and injuring another seven.

Prosecutors and forensic teams in Giza and Qalyubia governorates began investigating the sites and causes of these fatal fires on Sunday.

Several local media outlets reported that fire-fighters were unable to rescue three workers trapped inside an inner chamber within the 6th of October City factory, although they did save one.

The privately owned Youm7 news portal reported that the bodies of the deceased workers were later recovered from the site.

The cause of the fire at the privately owned paint factory is unknown.

Several workers on site at the starch and glucose factory (also privately owned) in Shubra al-Kheima, said the fire was the result of a gas leak and subsequent boiler explosion.

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported that five workers died from burns and smoke-inhalation. Another seven, including two low-ranking policemen at the scene of the accident, were reportedly hospitalized.

These fatal industrial accidents come just days after a deadly fire at a furniture factory in Cairo’s Obour City, which claimed the lives of 26 workers, and injured over 20 others. Investigations into this fire revealed that this (privately-owned) furniture factory was unlicensed, due to its insufficient safety measures.

In September 2014, a factory collapse in Obour City claimed the lives of five workers and injured more than 30 others.