At least 81 injured in downtown Cairo fire

At least 81 people including firefighters suffered minor injuries today when a fire spread quickly through a commercial area in downtown Cairo, Egyptian officials said.
The fire erupted overnight in a small hotel in the Al-Mosky neighbourhood, not far from the Al-Azhar mosque, and moved rapidly to four nearby buildings, police told AFP.
The buildings included warehouses containing plastic materials which helped the fire to spread.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
By midday it had been brought under control, Cairo fire chief Gamal Halawa said, adding that 16 firefighters and police had suffered from smoke inhalation.

Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said a total of 81 people had received minor injuries, with an ambulance official saying most had suffered from smoke inhalation or bruises, not from burns.