Egyptian man sets home on fire, killing his mother, wife, daughters following 'dispute over expenses'

Egyptian man sets home on fire, killing his mother, wife, daughters following 'dispute over expenses'
Five members of a family have been killed after a male relative set their home alight in a dispute over expenses.
2 min read
19 July, 2020
The man allegedly set his home alight [File Photo: Getty]
An Egyptian man has allegedly killed five members of his family after setting his home alight over a dispute on expenses, local media reported.

The man, identified as Hossam, was arrested by police after setting fire to his apartment, where his 70-year-old mother, wife (41) and four daughters (aged 17, 10, 6 and 3) were.

The 17-year-old daugher was the sole survivor of the fire and has been transported to hospital, where she is being treated for her injuries.

The incident in Asyut was triggered by an argument over expenses, Almasry Alyoum reported, though no further details were provided.

Civil defence forces swiftly moved to contain the fire after a number of reports from neighbours. The first floor of the home was completely destroyed, authorities said.

Egyptian authorities are lax in their enforcement of safety standards and fire regulations, with weak adherence to existing rules a culprit in many deaths.

The Asyut fire came after at least 17 people were injured in a massive blaze that broke out over an oil leak from the Shuqair-Mostorod pipeline next to a busy highway in a Cairo suburb on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The fire, on the side of a motorway, ignited after a spark caused by cars driving by triggered crude that was leaking from the pipe, Egypt’s petroleum ministry said.

Last month, at least seven Covid-19 patients died in a fire which broke out in the isolation ward of a private hospital in the coastal Egyptian city of Alexandria, according to the country's public prosecutor.

Preliminary reports suggested an electric short-circuit sparked the blaze, which began after an air-conditioner unit exploded.

Nurses rushed to the scene and found patients in the intensive care unit overcome by clouds of smoke. Six men and one woman died, according to Governor Mohamed El-Sharif

"The fire was huge, and none of the workers could have contained the situation because of its swift spread" the Badrawy Hospital said in a statement, posted on social media.

One patient was injured in the fire and the rest were evacuated to another medical facility in the city, it was reported.

Firefighters doused the charred remains of ventilators, beds, and other medical supplies in the ward so that the blaze would not spread to other parts of the hospital.

A similar fire swept through a coronavirus isolation centre in the capital Cairo the month prior, though no casualties were reported. 

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