At least 38 people were injured in a massive fire at police headquarters in Egypt.

A building in Ismailia is engulfed in flames. Photo: @Ultraswhite via X

At least 38 people were injured in the huge fire. Fire at police headquarters in Egypt.

The building in Ismailia was fully staffed with officers when a fire broke out early Monday morning, soon engulfing the entire building. No deaths were immediately reported.

Emergency services had to fight through a large cloud of smoke to reach the people trapped inside and bring the fire under control.

By dawn, all that was left of the headquarters was a charred shell. .

Egypt's Interior Minister ordered an investigation into the cause of the fire. Photo: Stringer/Avalon

26 people were taken to a local hospital, 24 of them with suffocation, two with burns, the Ministry of Health reported. Twelve more people were treated at the scene.

According to local media, the Ministry of Health sent 50 ambulances to the site, joined by military emergency services, including two aircraft.

Mahmoud Tawfik, Egypt's interior minister, said he had ordered an investigation into the cause of the fire as well as a «structural safety review» of the building.

Smoke rises from the building after the fire has been extinguished. Photo: AP Photo/Mohammed Awad

Deadly fires are common in a country where fire safety regulations are rarely enforced and emergency services are often slow. arrive.

In August 2022, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit killed 41 worshipers at a Cairo church, prompting calls to improve Egypt's infrastructure and reduce fire brigade response times.