Update: Fire kills 24, injures 26 in Obour City

A fire resulted in the deaths of 24 people and injured 26 on Tuesday in Obour City, northeast of Cairo, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported. The fire reportedly broke out in furniture company ElHelow Style Office Furniture's factory space.

Health Ministry Spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told Al-Masry Al-Youm that ambulances and firefighters had arrived at the scene to rescue survivors from the building. He said that the injured were transferred to hospitals in Obour City, Ain Shams, Salam City and Shebeen al-Qanater.

The fire was subdued within four hours, and firefighters managed to save the lives of 150 workers trapped inside the factory, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported, adding that several military generals arrived at the scene to supervise the search and rescue operations. The two owners of the factory were arrested, while preliminary assessment put the losses at LE5 million, according to the newspaper. 

A security source from the Qalyubia governorate told state-owned Al-Ahram that workers were transporting gas cylinders from the ground floor to the fifth floor of the factory when one of the cylinders exploded, causing the fire.

The source also told Al-Ahram that a large number of factory workers and their relatives were present at the scene, attempting to find out if their loved ones had survived, but that security forces had closed surrounding streets to facilitate the movement of injured people to nearby hospitals.

An anonymous Interior Ministry security source also told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the building in question did not meet legal safety requirements.

This is the second fire in Cairo this week resulting in fatalities. On July 21, a fire broke out in a three-story building in the upscale Zamalek district, resulting in the death of one person and injuring two policemen at the scene, the privately owned Al-Dostour reported. The fire also destroyed two bookstores below the building.