The administration said in an official statement, that the fire “led to devouring a small part of the hall prepared to receive the opening activities of the festival,” which is being held in the city of El Gouna in the Red Sea Governorate.
Immediately after the fire, the festival management contacted the civil protection forces, which sent fire trucks in cooperation with the El Gouna project firefighting services to control the fire.
The administration also decided immediately to open a detailed investigation to find out the causes of the accident and reveal its causes, amid talk of a short circuit.
The Ministry of Health and Population announced that 14 people suffocated, as a result of the limited fire.
The festival administration confirmed that the press conference for the fifth edition of the El Gouna Festival will be held on its scheduled date, Wednesday.
The festival’s pages on social media broadcast a recording of businessman Samih Sawiris, founder of El Gouna, in which he said that the opening ceremony will take place on time.
He said: “Praise be to God, the opening theater was not affected, and only the area of the ceremony that was to be held for the guests after the opening was damaged, and work is currently underway to repair it and return it as it was.”
Every year, the festival receives thousands of guests from Egypt and abroad, to combine beach tourism and watching movies.
The fifth session will be held from 14 to 22 October, where more than 80 films will be shown, and the Palestinian actor and director Muhammad Bakri and the Egyptian actor Ahmed El Sakka will be honored.
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