Four workers have been confirmed dead and at least 22 others injured after a fire broke out on Monday at a major data center in Cairo, disrupting telecommunications across Egypt’s capital.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, spokesperson for Egypt’s Health Ministry, told Reuters on Tuesday that most of the injuries resulted from smoke inhalation.
The fire, which erupted at a Telecom Egypt ETEL.CA facility, was brought under control the same day, according to state television.
However, the incident triggered widespread communication outages, including disruptions to internet and phone services.
Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, said in a statement on Tuesday that service restoration was underway and would be completed within 24 hours.
In a separate statement, Telecom Egypt mourned the loss of its employees and pledged support to their families.
The disruption affected not just phone calls but also internet services. Internet monitoring group Netblocks reported that network data showed national connectivity had dropped to 62% of normal levels.
The Health Ministry, anticipating difficulties in emergency access, released alternative numbers for ambulance services across different governorates in case residents could not reach the main hotline.
In addition to phone and internet failures, the fire disrupted some digital banking services, including ATM use, credit card transactions, and online payments. A bank source and local residents confirmed the disruptions, which occurred after banks had already closed for the day.
The state-run MENA news agency said the fire had been prevented from spreading to the entire building and adjacent rooftops.
