Blaze at Cairo telecom building kills 4, disrupts services

CAIRO/ISTANBUL

Four people were killed and 27 others injured in a fire that broke out at a major telecommunications center in downtown Cairo, Egypt, leading to partial disruptions in the country’s communications and internet networks, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The Health Ministry said civil defense teams recovered the bodies of the four victims from the Ramses Central Office on Tuesday.

Civil defense teams continued cooling operations inside the building on Tuesday to prevent the fire from reigniting after it was extinguished, Egypt’s state news agency MENA reported.

The state-owned Telecom Egypt Company said electricity supply to the entire building was cut during firefighting efforts to ensure workers’ safety and prevent the fire from spreading, causing temporary disruptions to some telecommunications services.

The company stated that all affected services will be assessed once firefighting operations are concluded.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat said that all telecommunication services will return gradually within 24 hours.

The Egyptian National Railways Authority issued an apology for irregularities in the nationwide ticket booking system, attributing the disruptions to an unexpected internet outage caused by telecommunications disruptions.

Besides, the Giza Governorate of western Cairo announced a technical failure in the emergency ambulance hotline due to the fire and urged citizens to use alternative phone numbers to request ambulance support until normal service resumes.

The Civil Aviation Ministry also reported a sudden and temporary failure in communications and internet networks, causing some flight delays.

The ministry said most flights were being rerouted through alternative routes, except for a limited number of international flights currently under coordination to activate alternative operational procedures.