CNN —A major fire ravaged the 80-year-old iconic Al-Ahram Studio in Cairo, causing extensive damage and spreading to adjacent buildings on Saturday morning, according to the Egyptian state news website Al-Ahram. The fire, which took firefighters over five hours to extinguish and prompted an evacuation of nearby residential buildings, erupted just hours after the completion of filming for a Ramadan television series, Al-Ahram added. Videos circulating on Egyptian media sites showed the studio site and the buildings around it fully affected by the fire. The studio had been instrumental in producing countless Egyptian films and television series, marking it as a significant cultural asset. Egypt’s Public Prosecutor has launched an investigation into the cause of the fire at one of the Arab world’s oldest film production houses, state media outlets report.

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Persons: Ahram, Momen Samir, ”, Omar Sharif, Youssef Chahine, Mostafa Madbouly, Nevine, Kilany Organizations: CNN, Ahram, Getty, Hollywood, Egypt’s, Madbouly, State Information Service Locations: Cairo, Ahram, AFP, Egypt, Al