A Fire and a Building Collapse in Egypt’s Nile Delta Leave 11 People Dead

This is a locator map for Egypt with its capital, Cairo. (AP Photo)

12:20 PM EDT, September 26, 2025

CAIRO (AP) — A building in Egypt’s Nile Delta partially collapsed following a fire that broke out at dawn on Friday, killing 11 people and injuring 33 others, officials said.

An electrical short circuit caused a boiler to explode and a fire to break out on the second floor of a clothing dye business in the city of Mahalla, about 103 kilometers (64 miles) north of Cairo. Located in Gharbia province, Mahalla is known for textile manufacturing.

That led to the partial collapse of the building, said the governor’s media office in a statement.

Officials’ preliminary findings reported eight deaths and three people trapped under rubble earlier Friday. However, it is unclear if the latest death toll includes those previously reported as trapped.

Gov. Ashraf el-Gendy, who visited the site, said in a statement that emergency response crews fully contained the fire and removed destroyed parts of the building.

The labor ministry said in a statement that some members of the civil defense personnel died while extinguishing the fire.

According to the governor’s office and the health ministry, 26 injured people were discharged after their medical conditions improved, while seven others remain in the hospital with two people in intensive care.

In July, a fire engulfed the main telecom company building in downtown Cairo, injuring at least 14 people and prompting a temporary outage of internet and mobile phone services.