Huge Fire destroys #Libya Market in #Matrouh

Huge fire has destroyed Marsa Matrouh’s most famous and biggest public market “Libya Market” in Marsa Matrouh earlier this morning. The fire started at 7 AM and destroyed nearly 90% of the market that is already made of tin. 7 citizens reportedly suffered from suffocation , hopefully there are no deaths. According to early estimations primarily losses reached to LE 3 million. Economic losses are expected to be more than as news reports are speaking about the destruction of not less than 400 small shops.

Here is a video showing the fire from distance.

Here is a video showing the fire from another angle.

Here is a video after the fire was put off , it shows the amount of destruction in the popular market.

Here is a photo gallery for photos I found in Matrouh News Facebook page.

Luckily this fire did not happen in the summer season. The army sent 6 fire engines and the commanders of the Western Zone went to the fire location along with the new governor of Matrouh that arrived at 10 AM. President Morsi is following the matter according to his FB account, I am not surprised as the man visited Matrouh from short time ago. Here is the video showing the new governor of Matrouh Ahmed El Haitemy “a former General” with the commander of the Western zone.

Amazingly before any investigation , the commander of the Western zone accused the old electricity short circuit of causing the fire !!

When I saw the photos of the market , I knew that this disaster should have happened from long time ago. Most of the shops made of tin and there is no fire protection system when many of these small shops used to sell inflammable substances starting from detergents to perfumes and paints.  You can see in this short clip filmed after the fire how the shops are tiny and close to each other.

According to Matrouh’s head of security directorate there is no evidence of criminal intent behind this fire.

Many Egyptians include me associate “Libya Market” with the foreign goods smuggled from Libya in early 1990s that we could not find back in Cairo in cheap prices. I remember when we used to spend summer there that my mom and aunts along with my late grandma “May Allah bless her soul” to buy stuff from there.