The fire in Minya’s Anba Yoanas Monastery started in a power generator, according to the centre, which belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The centre also published photos showing a huge crowd gathered around the Monastery of the Virgin Mary in the Durunka Mountain in Upper Egypt’s Assiut as the fire burned in the monastery.

The “limited” Assiut fire was brought under control and no casualties have been reported, Assiut Governor Essam Saad said in a statement.

The fire started in a garbage pile near the wall of the monastery’s residential buildings, Saad said.

The fire broke out during the annual celebrations of the fasting of the Virgin Mary, which runs from 7-22 August. The governor noted that the celebrations have continued unaffected and were attended by thousands of citizens and religious leaders.

The fire was brought under control by civil protection personnel, Saad stressed, urging the media not to publish unofficial statements about the incident in order to avoid stirring fears among citizens.

Several fires have broken out in Egypt over the past week, including in churches in northern Egypt’s Giza and Upper Egypt’s Minya, and at Alexandria’s City Centre Mall. Investigations have determined that all the fires were accidental.

While both the Minya and Alexandria fires were brought under control with no fatalities, the fire in Abu Sefein Church in Giza last Sunday claimed the lives of 41 people, including 15 children, in one of Egypt’s worst tragedies in recent years.

The Abu Sefein Church fire was caused by an electrical fault, the Public Prosecution said in a statement this week.