Flames engulfed the 80-year-old iconic Al-Ahram Studio in Cairo’s Giza area, destroying everything within and extending to three other buildings, which were evacuated before the fire reached them.
Security sources said there were no deaths, though some people suffering smoke inhalation were treated at the scene.
According to local media, the fire broke out 24 hours after a Ramadan television series had concluded production.
The cause of the fire is unidentified, and according to security sources, it took more than six hours for the firemen to extinguish it.
Yusif Mohammed, a neighbor who observed the incident, told AFP that flames had “reached the surrounding buildings before fire trucks arrived.”
“No one knows what really happened” to cause it, he asserted.
The fire broke out after the production team for the series “El-Moallem,” featuring Egyptian actor Mustafa Shaban, finished a typical filming day.
Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, along with several high-ranking officials and ministers, quickly arrived at the site of a fire outbreak to oversee the firefighting efforts, evaluate the damage and expedite the compensation process. An official statement stated that the Prime Minister and his colleagues toured the site and the affected residential buildings. They were briefed about the situation by the governor of Giza, who informed them that th
e blaze had significantly damaged the facades of seven buildings. The statement further added that the Prime Minister had ordered the urgent formation of a committee to prepare estimates regarding the time and cost required to restore the buildings to their pre-fire condition. He also announced compensation for the affected families to cover the rent until the buildings are rehabilitated to their original state.
Al-Ahram Studio is a historic film production studio located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1944, it spans across a vast area of 27,000 square meters and comprises of three large production stages, a screening room, and an editing suite. The studio has played an essential role in the Egyptian film industry, producing numerous classic films and television series. In fact, during the 1950s, Egypt was the third-largest film producer in the world, and Al-Ahram Studio was one of the primary reasons for this success. The studio’s state-of-the-art facilities and sound stages have attracted many local and international filmmakers over the years, making it one of the most significant landmarks of the Egyptian cinema industry.
