Sixteen injured in fire at Cairo convention centre

CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 16 people were injured on Wednesday when a large fire broke out at a convention centre in a northeastern Cairo neighbourhood, medical and security sources said. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Firefighters spent more than two hours battling the blaze, which state media said earlier had reached the main hall of the centre. Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said 16 people were wounded in the fire. Interior Ministry spokesman Hani Abdellatif told state television the initial investigation showed the fire may have started in a closed office and spread through central air-conditioning vents. The fire sent dark plumes of smoke rising above the building near a busy highway in the Nasr City district. The convention centre regularly hosts conferences, expositions and concerts (Reporting by Yara Bayoumy, Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Catherine Evans)