Theatre fire kills 32 in Egypt

The candle, a prop in the play "Hamlet" at an experimental theatre festival in the town of Beni Suef 100km south of Cairo, set fire to carpeting and spread rapidly to the rest of the building, survivors of the blaze said.

Mena said the local hospital had received 32 bodies. Police gave a slightly lower death toll of 31 and said 37 others were injured.

Adel Hassan, the producer, said about 100 people were watching the Shakespeare play in a small auditorium with only one exit.

"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," he told reporters.

Hassan was speaking in Beni Suef Hospital, where he was receiving treatment for burns to his face and arms.

Sixteen of the injured have serious burns of at least 60 percent, hospital officials said. More than a dozen bodies had yet to be identified.