Nine killed, 17 injured in Cairo building fire

Dubai: At least nine people were killed and 17 injured after a fire broke out at a clothing factory and storage facility on the ground floor of a 12-storey residential building in Cairo, officials said.

The toll rose from earlier figures of three dead and two injured reported late on Tuesday, as emergency teams continued rescue and assessment operations. Authorities said the factory owner had been arrested pending investigation into the cause of the fire.

Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber said civil defence teams brought the blaze under control in Saraya El Qobba Street in the Zeitoun district and were carrying out cooling operations.

Emergency services were deployed immediately after the incident was reported, with six fire engines and 10 ambulances dispatched to the scene.

Utilities were cut as a precaution, while an engineering committee was formed to assess structural damage to the building. Prosecutors and investigators are examining the site to determine the cause of the fire.