Massive fire guts Egypt's Parliament, 10 injured

DOUSING THE FIRE: According to officials the fire broke out on the top floor and spread from there.

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New Delhi: A massive fire gutted the main building of the upper house of Egypt's Parliament injuring 10 people. Nearly a dozen fire engines and military helicopters rushed to the spot.

Helicopters hovered over the Nile and scooped water to douse the blaze. The police cordoned off the area around the old building in central Cairo from which flames and clouds of smoke billowed in the air.

The building is close to the cabinet house, the American University in Cairo and several Western embassies.

More than a dozen fire engines were spraying water from hoses to put out the flames, which caused parts of the wooden ceiling on the top floor to collapse, an eye witness was quoted by Reuters as saying.

According to officials the fire broke out on the top floor and later spread to the rest of the building. State-run media said the cause was probably a short-circuit.

State-run television urged people in repeated addresses to avoid streets leading to the site of the fire.

(With inputs from agencies)