Story about Alexandria fatal fire from www.arabia.com
At least 16 killed in Egyptian factory fire - Twenty-six people were injured, including three firefighters, and they were treated in two nearby hospitals - July 20, 2000, 10:36 PM
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AFP English) - At least 16 people died, including the fire chief of this Mediterranean city, after a clothing factory caught fire and collapsed, police said Thursday. Many others, including a group of children, were feared dead. Twenty-six people were injured, including three firefighters, and they were treated in two nearby hospitals, police said.
Among those killed were Alexandria's fire and disaster chief, General Mohammed Ragai, and his deputy, General Ibrahim Abdel Qader, who also headed the explosives department. They were inspecting the inside of the building when it caved in after the blaze had been extinguished Wednesday evening. Over the course of the day, their bodies and those of a fire department sergeant, five civil defense workers and eight other adults were pulled from a pile of broken concrete beams and twisted steel reinforcement rods.
The rubble was being cleared by dozens of rescue workers aided by earth-moving equipment as several ambulances stood by. One person died shortly after the blaze broke out on Wednesday morning at the six-story building in the city's Sidi Gaber neighborhood, which was believed to have been started by an electrical short circuit, police said.
© 2000 AFP