People gather around as residents help security and civil defence personnel put out a fire that broke out at a church in the Omraneya suburb in Giza, Egypt April 30, 2021.
A technical malfunction was behind the massive fire that broke out on Friday night at the Church of the Archangel Suriel and the Marmina with no reported casualties, the interior ministry announced on Saturday.
According to an official statement, a security source determined the cause of the fire as a technical error in the electrical connections on the third floor of the four-story church.
The source said civil defense forces were able to contain the fire, with no deaths or injuries reported.
Only smoke inhalation was reported between workers at the Church during the fire, they added.
The statement comes hours after the Archdiocese of Coptic Orthodox in Giza said in an official statement late Friday that the fire broke at 9pm following the conclusion of Good Friday prayers.
It added that the fire destroyed all of the church’s inventories, without determining the fire damage losses.
Egyptian Copts celebrated Good Friday today as part of the Holy Week, with the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II leading the prayers at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, in Cairo's Abbassiya district, with limited attendance due to the pandemic.
According to biblical beliefs, Good Friday - celebrated internationally - marks Jesus Christ's crucifixion and death at Calvary.
This year, the Holy Week began on 25 April and ends with Easter on the evening of 1 May.
The religious week has been continuously disrupted due to the pandemic outbreak for a second year now, with attendance limited to Church officials to stem the spread of the virus in the country.
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