A tragic accident during a performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet in the town of Beni Suef, Egypt, ignited a blaze in which 31 people were killed. 16 others were also seriously burned in the blaze which occured on Monday night.
14 of the injured were reportedly cast-members who were visiting from Port Said.
Survivor Mohammed el-Amrousi, a 23-year-old acting student from Alexandria told reporters, "The room became engulfed in flames. The flames were like an ocean spreading across the theater."
Reports claim that one of the play's props, a lit candle, was knocked over, setting fire to the small experimental theater which apparently had only one exit door and was filled with an estimated 100 audience members. Panic stricken theater-goers scrambled for the exit, apparently blocked by falling debris.
Eyewitnesses said that the candle set fire to the theater's carpeting which quickly spread to the rest of the one-story building, according to Reuters. The structure was quickly burned to its foundations in less than one hour.
Adel Hassan, the producer of the play, suffered burns to his arms and face. He told reporters that "All the people rushed to the exit and struggled to get out. But the fire spread very rapidly and many of them just couldn't get out in time."
More than a dozen bodies had yet to be identified.
Fire regulations in public buildings are generally enforced with minimal stringency in Egypt. In 2002, at least 350 people were killed on a train fire near Cairo.
