Users of social networking sites circulated an image that their publishers claim shows the arrival of the two sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to offer condolences for the victims of the fire at the Abu Seifen Church, west of Cairo.
In the photo, Gamal Mubarak is seen shaking hands with a Christian cleric. And he wrote on the photo, “The moment Gamal Mubarak and Alaa Mubarak arrived at Abu Sefein Church.”
However, the claim is wrong, and the photo actually shows a delegation from the Egyptian Church offering condolences for Hosni Mubarak in 2020.
The photo has garnered thousands of interactions on social media since its spread, coinciding with the burial ceremony of victims who died in a large fire that broke out on August 14 in the Church of the Martyr Abi Sefein, west of the Egyptian capital, during the morning mass, as a result of an “electrical fault”, according to official authorities’ data.
The Ministry of Interior stated in a statement that the examination of the forensic evidence showed that “the fire broke out in an air-conditioning (device) on the second floor of the church building, which includes a number of classrooms, as a result of an electrical fault, and this led to the emission of a thick amount of smoke that was the main cause of injuries and deaths. “.
The photo circulating does not document the arrival of Alaa and Gamal Mubarak to the Abu Seifin Church to offer condolences, as the inspection guides that it was published in February 2020 as part of materials on the funeral ceremony of former President Hosni Mubarak.
The same clip can be found in a video posted on YouTube on the same date under the title “A delegation from the Egyptian Church to offer condolences for Mubarak.”
Alaa Mubarak offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the nickname fire in a tweet he posted on his Twitter account on August 14, 2022.
The fire at Abu Sefein Church killed more than 40 people, according to official sources, including children.