Before daybreak on Monday, a massive fire tore through the regional police headquarters in the Egyptian city of Ismailia, destroying the structure and injuring at least 45 people.
The Security Directorate building in the city, 110 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Cairo, was destroyed in a fire that authorities said they had started an investigation into the cause of.
In video footage posted to social media, several people could be seen trapped within the burning building and yelling for help from the windows. Later, emergency personnel could be seen using a crane to rescue them.
According to the health ministry and local media, fifty ambulances arrived at the scene quickly, along with two army planes and military emergency services.
As the building’s flames burned through it, spewing black smoke into the night sky, crowds of people crowded to its base.
According to the health ministry, 12 people received treatment right away, and 33 more were sent to hospitals in Ismailia and nearby Suez, according to the public defender’s office.
The majority of those affected by the fire, which initially became known at 4:30 a.m. (0130 GMT), suffered burns or smoke inhalation.
By daylight, the structure had been reduced to a shell of blackened concrete as firefighters doused the structure in water to put out any remaining flames.
Security personnel then blocked off the area, and authorities have not said how many police or detainees were inside the structure, according to AFP correspondents.
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