A fire that erupted this morning, Wednesday 21 November, in the Fatimid cemetery in Aswan was put out by the civil defence corps, leaving no casualties. No damages were incurred in the 10th – 12th- century cemetery, since the fire had started in part of the grounds that includes no buildings but is overgrown with reeds.
Muhammad Abdel-Sheikh, head of Aswan Antiquities Department, said that seven firefighting trucks put out the fire within an hour of its eruption. Aswan Governor, Ahmed Ibrahim who later visited the scene, demanded an official investigation into the matter.
Aswan Antiquities Department had late last month started efforts to remove the reeds which cover some 4200 square metres of the cemetery grounds. The work is still underway.
Watani International
21 November 2018