Cairo: A massive fire has swept through a major Coptic church in a Cairo suburb, causing heavy damage, but no casualties, church officials said on Monday.
The blaze erupted late Sunday inside the Mar Gerges Church in the southern Cairo district of Helwan, witnesses said.
Around 20 fire trucks rushed to the site and managed to control the blaze before it could extend to adjacent buildings, they added.
The cause of the fire is not clear yet, although a short electrical circuit is suspected.
“The fire caused heavy damage to the church, but caused no causalities,” a spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church said in a statement.
Bishop Beshara in charge of the Mar Gerges Church said its building had been completed destroyed.
“The cause of the fire is still unknown. No one was hurt because there was no person was inside the church when the fire broke out,” he added in media remarks.
Online images showed massive damage inside the church as a result of the blaze.
Copts make up the majority of Egypt’s minority Christian community.
