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At least 20 people were reported killed and 24 injured when a fire broke out on March 11 in a garment factory in El-Obour City, north of Cairo. The local governor’s office said in a statement that the fire started in a four-floor factory at about 11 a.m. local time and was later brought under control. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
Ambulances and firefighting trucks were sent to the scene and victims were transferred to several nearby hospitals, global newswires reported citing the official statement.
A team of experts was looking into the damage and trying to assess the impact the fire might have had on any of the adjacent buildings in the area.
Factory fires, as well as blazes elsewhere, are quite common in Egypt, due to the lax enforcement of industrial and other safety measures.
Last month, a high-rise apartment building in Cairo caught fire after a blaze erupted at an unlicensed leather factory that occupied its first three floors. The fire ended up damaging the building's foundations, which eventually forced municipal authorities to demolish it.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
At least 20 people were reported killed and 24 injured when a fire broke out on March 11 in a garment factory in El-Obour City, north of Cairo. The local governor's office said in a statement that the fire started in a four-floor factory at about 11 a.m. local time and was later brought under control. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.