77 injured in Cairo fire

At least 77 people have been injured after a massive fire broke out in a hotel in downtown Cairo early today, according to Egypt’s ambulance services.

Many of those hurt during the fire suffered from asphyxiation, health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed told state news agency MENA. No deaths were reported.

The fire started shortly after midnight inside Hotel Andalusia in a populous commercial area in Cairo’s Ataba neighbourhood. The flames quickly spread to at least three adjacent buildings and a popular market of street vendors, according to an interior ministry statement.

The cause of the blaze, which took six hours to put out, is still unknown and an investigation is underway, an official said.