A multiple-car crash set off an explosion that ignited a fire at Egypt's main cancer hospital and caused 19 deaths, the government said.
The Egyptian Health Ministry said that 30 others were injured by the crash near Cairo's famed Tahrir Square late Sunday. The country's interior ministry said in a statement that a vehicle driving outside the National Cancer Institute collided with up to three other vehicles, causing the explosion.
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The blast caused a fire in the hospital, where at least 54 patients were evacuated to other hospitals. The fire was later brought under control, with television footage on Monday morning showing shattered windows and doors. The health ministry did not say if hospital patients or staff members were among the casualties.
Why the crash caused such a large explosion wasn't immediately clear.
Egypt's public prosecutor was investigating the cause of the incident, but there was no official statement indicating that the explosion was an attack.
"We heard an explosion and ... the bank entrance glass was shattered everywhere," said Abdel-Rahman Mohamed, a security officer at a bank at the opposite side of the hospital.
The health ministry said the injured people were taken to hospitals for treatment.
Road accidents are common in Egypt. The country's official statistics agency says that 8,000 crashes last year caused more than 3,000 deaths and 12,000 injuries.
The government in Cairo has battled Islamic jihadists for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency that has occasionally spilled over to the mainland, hitting minority Christians and tourists.
In February of 2018, Egypt launched operation "Sinai 2018" in an effort to rid the peninsula of radical Islamist terrorists.
In May 2019, five Egyptian soldiers and dozens of terrorists were killed in clashes in the restive area.
Monday's explosion came as Egypt's vital tourism industry was finally showing signs of recovery after years in the doldrums due to the tenuous security situation and political upheaval in the wake of the Arab Spring uprising.
