CAIRO — Eleven police recruits died and another four were injured when flames engulfed their barracks in a Cairo suburb yesterday, a security official said.
"The blaze in a barracks at Al Marg caused the deaths of 11 conscripts who were all asleep. Seven were asphyxiated and four burned," the official said, adding that four more were hurt in the accident.
An interior ministry statement, without specifying the number of casualties, said the fire was "probably" caused by a short circuit, and that the families of the victims would receive emergency aid of 10,000 pounds (1,350 euros).
"The fire has been brought under control," the statement said. — AFP