On the evening of the 7th, a telecom building in Egypt’s capital city Cairo caught fire, resulting in 22 people being injured and causing widespread disruption of mobile communications and internet services in the Greater Cairo area.
This building, located in downtown Cairo, belongs to Telecom Egypt and serves as a key telecommunications data center.
Most of the injured suffered from inhalation injuries. Firefighters brought the blaze inside the building under control and are conducting cooling operations. Preliminary investigations indicate the fire was likely triggered by an electrical short circuit.
As a precaution, the entire telecom building was cut off from power. Mobile phones became unreachable and internet access was lost across the Greater Cairo area. Some digital banking services, including credit cards, ATMs, and online transfers, were also affected. The Egyptian Ministry of Health released temporary emergency medical phone numbers in several urban areas to prevent people from being unable to call emergency hotlines or reach ambulances.
The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt stated that services would be gradually restored over the coming hours. Meanwhile, it is tallying the affected services and customers to accurately assess damages.