Mohamed Salah sends donation to help rebuild Giza church damaged in deadly blaze

Liverpool forward donates three million Egyptian pounds after 41 people were killed in fire

Egyptian mourners at a funeral of some of the 41 worshippers, many of them children, killed in Sunday's Abu Seifein church fire in Giza, greater Cairo. AFP

Funerals were held at two Cairo churches after a blaze ripped through the Coptic Christian church during Sunday Mass. AFP

Coffins of those killed in the fire in the densely populated Imbaba working class district west of the Nile River. AFP

Mourners at a funeral held at the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Giza governorate. AFP

Crowds watch as a coffin is lifted into an ambulance to be taken to a memorial service. AP

Grieving family members at a joint funeral service. Reuters

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly visits the Abu Seifein church, which was gutted by a blaze blamed on an electrical fault. AFP

Mostafa Madbouly speaks to officials at the blaze site. AFP

The prime minister visits one of the 14 people in hospital after the blaze. AFP

Abandoned shoes at the church. AP

The fire-damaged church interior. AP

A Coptic priest outside the church in the aftermath of the deadly blaze. AFP

Egypt's Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El Kabbag visits injured victims. Photo: MOSS

At least 55 people were taken to hospital in 30 ambulances after they were injured in the blaze. Photo: MOSS

The congregation were packed in a chapel when the fire broke out. Reuters

Security forces members at the scene of the tragedy. Reuters

Damage caused to the church, where the fire is thought to have broken out in an air-conditioning unit. Reuters

Firefighters at the church in the aftermath of the deadly blaze. Photo: Ministry of the Interior

Firefighters enter the church building. Photo: Ministry of the Interior

Egyptian Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has donated three million Egyptian pounds ($156,664) to help rebuild a church in Giza where a fire on Sunday killed 41 people and left several others injured.

Social media channels in Egypt were full of messages of gratitude to the footballer beloved by millions.

The donation was confirmed by prominent Egyptian sports reporter Ibrahim Abdel Gawad, who joined many others in thanking Salah in a Facebook post.

These included renowned cardiologist Dr Gamal Shaban, whose post, which was shared by thousands, included a part addressed to business mogul Naguib Sawiris.

Mr Sawiris, one of the country’s most high-profile Copts, has come under fire since Sunday for a tweet he made in the aftermath of the Abu Seifein Church fire, which strongly suggested that the blaze was not an accident and said he would not offer condolences until the culprit was established.

“You want to know the culprit? You are the real culprit. For neglecting your charity work, not taking care of the poor and only really investing in film festivals,” Dr Shaban wrote on Facebook, “Mohamed Salah donated 3 million to the church, how much have you donated?”

A number of other social media users expressed similar sentiments, prompting a response from him, which he made on Twitter to a user named Azza, to whom he wrote, “I don’t make public my donations, Azza.”

Salah was in June ranked by UK newspaper The Sunday Times as the eighth most charitable person in Britain. The player had in 2019 donated $3 million to Egypt’s National Cancer Institute after a terrorist attack that killed 20 and injured dozens.

He gave 12 million Egyptian pounds' worth of equipment to a prominent children’s cancer hospital in Egypt.

Salah was also photographed in Liverpool in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic paying for some of his fans’ fuel.