Mother, three children killed in fire at family home in Egypt

Dubai: A mother and three of her children were killed and the father was injured when a fire swept through their ground floor flat in Egypt’s Giza governorate on Tuesday, according to local media reports.

The blaze broke out at the family home in the Al Haram district before Civil Defence crews brought the flames under control and prevented the fire from spreading to neighbouring properties.

The bodies of the mother and her three children were taken to hospital, while the injured father was admitted for treatment. Prosecutors have opened an investigation to determine the cause and circumstances of the fire.

Neighbours said the family had been preparing for the wedding of one of the daughters, who was among those killed.

They said the father, Reda Ahmed, had left the home earlier in the morning to complete purchases for his daughter’s wedding preparations when the fire broke out.

The three siblings killed included two daughters and a son, while a fourth sibling, 14-year-old Youssef, survived the blaze, according to reports.

Neighbours said the family was originally from Egypt’s Minya governorate and that the victims’ bodies were expected to be taken there for burial once legal procedures had been completed.

Witnesses also said the father suffered an electric shock to his face during the incident, causing him to fall backwards and sustain injuries. Authorities, however, have not said that an electrical fault caused the blaze, and the source of the fire has yet to be officially established.

Emergency services were dispatched to the scene after Giza security authorities received a report of a fire with casualties inside the flat.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze, while police documented the incident and prosecutors began investigating its cause and whether there were any suspicious circumstances.