Around nineteen people were killed and 30 got after a car crash involving several cars caused an explosion in central Cairo, Egypt’s health ministry said on Monday. The blast took place outside Egypt’s National Cancer Institute in Cairo, reported Reuters.
According to Reuters, the blast was caused when a car driving against traffic on Cairo’s Nile corniche road collided with three other cars. No further information was made available.
The health ministry said the collision resulted in a blaze that forced the partial evacuation of the National Cancer Institute. 54 people were evacuated from inside the cancer institute and transferred to other hospitals. Authorities had sent 42 ambulances to the crash site immediately to transfer injuries to receive needed treatment.
“There are around four seriously injured cases that were registered into the intensive care unit, while other injuries varied between mild to moderate bone break. There are different levels of burns, and cuts and bruises across the injuries’ bodies,” Health Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed explained.
There were reports of damage to the third floor of the cancer institute.
“We heard an explosion and… the bank entrance glass was shattered everywhere,” said Abdel-Rahman Mohamed, a security worker at a bank opposite the facility.
It currently remains unclear why the crash caused such a large explosion. It also was not clear if the casualties were all from the vehicles.
Sources told Reuters that Egypt’s public prosecutor is investigating the incident.
