CAIRO/ISTANBUL
At least 22 people were injured on Monday 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.
Health Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said the initial casualty count in the fire at Ramses Central office had risen from 14 to 22, with patients transferred to Katameya, Al-Mounira, and Al-Demerdash hospitals. Most injuries were due to suffocation and first-degree superficial burns, with all cases reported as stable.
The General Directorate of Civil Protection teams commenced cooling operations inside the building to prevent the fire from reigniting after it was extinguished, the Egyptian News Agency reported.
The state-owned Telecom Egypt Company said in a statement that it responded immediately to the fire in coordination with the civil protection forces.
The electricity supply to the entire building was cut during firefighting efforts to ensure worker safety and prevent fire spread, which caused temporary disruption to some telecommunications services.
The company said all affected services will be assessed once firefighting operations conclude to compensate those affected, assuring that technical teams were working to fully restore services as soon as possible.
Separately, the Egyptian Media Production City reassured that the fire did not and will not affect the satellite broadcast of talk shows and live programs across all TV channels operating within the city.
It said the impact was limited to internet, landline, and mobile phone lines, affecting program producers’ ability to communicate fully with guests and sources.
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 the telecommunications company.
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 reported that “due to a sudden and temporary failure in communications and internet networks, limited flight delays occurred for some departures.”
It clarified that the emergency plan was immediately activated to ensure operational continuity, with coordination to allow all flights to depart without cancellations.
Most flights were being rerouted through alternative routes, except for a limited number of international flights currently under coordination to activate alternative operational procedures, according to the ministry.