5 sentenced to death in Egypt over damaging pipeline, causing 9 deaths

CAIRO – 26 March 2020: A criminal court on Thursday sentenced five people to death, over damaging a petroleum pipeline and causing the death of nine people in November in northern Egypt.

The five others were handed a 25-year imprisonment sentence.


The tragic incident took place in Egypt’s northern governorate of Beheira causing the injury of 11 people. The burns affected a maximum of 50 percent of the injured bodies and varied in their degrees.

According to investigations, defendants planned to steal petroleum products from the pipeline crossing a private property. For that purpose, they rented the land in October and dug to reach the pipeline connecting it to smaller pipes and a stopcock they installed.

In the morning of November 13, one of the defendants attempted to install another stopcock accidentally puncturing a pipe. That resulted in a leak they failed to control so they escaped. The petrol got mixed with a wastewater channel and a blaze occurred.

At noon, the owner of the land called the police. The authorities confiscated the pipes the defendants installed and the tools used in digging, and the company controlled the leak.

A number of village dwellers gathered to watch and shoot videos. However, some of them were trying to steal the leaked petrol. The identities of thieves could not be identified from the videos and photos circulated on social media.

Subsequently, Top Prosecutor Hamada al-Sawy referred 10 defendants in the case to the criminal court, after they admitted their crimes.