CAIRO: Army fire engines extinguish a fire that broke Thursday morning in the fossilized tree forest that is part of the Virgin Mary Monastery in Drenka village in Assiut, Upper Egypt. The monk in charge of the monastery said that it was necessary for the army to intervene after the civil defense devices failed to control the blaze. He confirmed that the fire caused panic among worshippers. The heavy smoke resulted in an unspecified number of cases of suffocation. The casualties were transported to hospital by ambulance. However the fire did not reach the monastery building which is located on the highest western hill about 10 kilometers west of Assiut. Hundreds of thousands of visitors will be celebrating the birth of the Virgin Mary as scheduled, aid the monk. He added that the land on which the fire broke out covers an area of about 13 acres of trees. He continued that there was a disagreement between the monastery and the Assuit governorate over the land which ended with the governor issuing a decree handing over the land to the monastery, but security bodies refused to allow the to build a surrounding wall, which places the holy site the monastery's control. The Virgin Mary monastery in Drenka is one of the oldest monasteries in Egypt, and is believed to be the last stop in the Holy Family's journey through Upper Egypt. The monastery celebrates the birth of Virgin Mary every year between Aug. 7 and 21, during which time hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, both Muslim and Christian, come to pay their respects. Bishop Michael of Assiut had threatened to cancel the celebration this year if the land dispute persisted.
