Death toll from heat wave in Egypt rises to 61

At least 61 people died and hundreds others were wounded due to the heat wave that is sweeping across Egypt nationwide, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

The extremely hot weather has killed 61 persons in four days, the ministry spokesperson, Houssam Abdel-Ghafar, was quoted by state news agency MENA as saying.

The victims most likely to suffer heat stroke are the elderly and children, as well as people with heart diseases and high blood pressures, Abdel-Ghafar added.

In August Egypt has been hit by heat wave with maximum temperatures that exceeded 50 degrees Celsius.

Abdel-Ghafar said the capital Cairo has seen the biggest death toll, followed by Giza province and some of Upper Egypt cities.

"The current heat wave is expected to continue until the end of August," Wahid Saudi, media spokesman of the Egyptian Meteorological Authority, told Xinhua, attributing reason for the heat wave to the influence of the seasonal Indian Depression.

"The heat wave hitting the country is brought by the seasonal Indian Depression as it comes from India and passes through the Arabian Peninsula, which are both too hot regions during this time of the year, and so it leads to considerable high temperature and moisture to some regional states including Egypt," Saudi explained. Endit