Electrical circuit error causes ‘minimal’ fire at High Dam electricity transformer

Fady Ashraf
1 Min Read
A connection will be made between the Congolese and Egyptian dam (AFP Photo)
A general view of Egypt's High Dam in Aswan (AFP Photo)
A general view of Egypt’s High Dam in Aswan
(AFP Photo)

An electrical circuit error caused a fire at one of the electrical transformers of the High Dam in Aswan on Tuesday morning.

A source in the Aswan Security Directorate said the fire was minimal and caused no losses.

The source added that the fire was in a transformer far away from the High Dam, and that the Armed Forces had the situation under control.

State-owned Al-Ahram cited an authority at the High Dam as saying that the fire will not affect the process of hydroelectricity generation.

The High Dam, built between 1960 and 1970, is an embankment dam spanning the Nile River in Aswan. The dam is used for controlling floods, supplying water for irrigation and generating hydroelectricity.

The dam blocks water behind it in what is called Lake Nasser, which flooded lower Nubia during its creation, forcing thousands of Nubians to resettle elsewhere.

Twenty two monuments and architectural complexes which were threatened by flooding from Lake Nasser were preserved by moving them to the shores of Lake Nasser under the UNESCO Nubia Campaign. Among the relocated temples are the Philae and Abu Simbel temples.

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