Nineteen dead in car explosion in central Cairo

People extinguish a fire from a blast outside the National Cancer Institute, Cairo, Egypt August 4, 2019. REUTERS/Shokry Hussien TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Nineteen people died and 30 were injured in an explosion resulting from a car crash in central Cairo, Egypt’s health ministry said early on Monday.

There was no official statement indicating that the explosion was an attack.

The blast happened when a car driving against traffic on Cairo’s Nile corniche road collided with three other cars, the interior ministry said in a separate statement.

It triggered a blaze that forced the partial evacuation of the nearby National Cancer Institute, the health ministry said.

Egypt’s public prosecutor is investigating the incident, sources told Reuters.

REUTERS