BREAKING: Grand Egyptian Museum Conference Building on fire

CAIRO - 29 April 2018: A big fire has swept through the under-construction Conference Building at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza on Sunday.

No casualties have yet been reported. The reasons behind of the blaze are yet to be clarified. All workers have been evacuated from the building, and an investigation has been launched into the incident.

10 fire engines have been deployed to the scene to contain the situation.


Fire at the Grand Egyptian Museum - EgyptToday/Mervat Rashad

After the opening, the Grand Egyptian Museum, located between modern Cairo and the Giza pyramids, will contain more than 100,000 artefacts covering 3,000 years of Egyptian history.

Described as the largest archaeological museum in the world, it covers 491,000 square meters, and is located two kilometers away from the Giza pyramids.