The initial security report regarding the massive fire which last week erupted in the church of the Holy Virgin in the village of Tama, Sohag, in Upper Egypt
The initial security report regarding the massive fire which last week erupted in the church of the Holy Virgin in the village of Tama, Sohag, in Upper Egypt, revealed that there was no criminal suspicion related to the accident, and that an electric short circuit was probably behind the fire. The fire which had spread to several Coptic-owned neighbouring houses, had eaten up the two-floor church building which dates back to 1935 and which is constructed on a wooden skeleton. This worked to make the flames rise quickly and spread, but fortunately left no casualties. However, a number of individuals suffered burns and suffocation and were moved to hospitals. Father Pola Samaan, the priest of the Holy Virgin’s told Watani that the town’s Copts are still waiting for the final report.
Father Pola said that the Church has submitted a request to Sohag local government for a permit to rebuild the church. A number of radical Islamists, however, demonstrated in Tama demanding that no rebuilding permit should be granted to the Church.
Watani International
28 May 2013
