At a time when the Egyptian government continues to expand, at an accelerating pace, the connection of natural gas to millions of homes as one of the most vital infrastructure projects of the last decade, the numbers of victims of gas leak accidents inside residential units are rising in turn, in a paradox that raises pressing questions about the cost of this expansion when it is not accompanied by an effective system of oversight and maintenance. While the service is presented as a qualitative leap that reduces reliance on butane cylinders, the recurring incidents reveal the absence of safety measures to prevent the accidents from happening again.
Since 2014, the Egyptian government has been pursuing a plan to connect natural gas to homes across the governorates of the republic, with the aim of reducing reliance on gas cylinders. According to official data, the total number of residential units connected to gas during 2025 reached about 572,000 housing units, bringing the total since the activity began in 2014 to about 15.5 million housing units. Despite the importance of this step, it opens the door to questions about the extent to which citizens are protected from the dangers of natural gas emissions and leaks, which has been dubbed in the media “the silent killer” because it has claimed many lives without warning.
Zawia3 documented 113 natural gas leak incidents that resulted in 349 victims, killed and injured, in the period from January 2024 to January 2026. It should be noted that these are only the incidents that were published, because they were associated with human or material losses, which points to the possibility that other incidents occurred that were not documented or published because they did not record tangible losses.
The data on these incidents was compiled from news archives and from official statements issued by the Public Prosecution, which investigated these accidents. We also searched three news websites using the search terms “gas leak” and “gas leakage”, excluded all news covering accidents caused by gas cylinders, and focused only on incidents related to natural gas leaks inside residential units, in addition to excluding leak incidents that occurred in commercial premises or streets as a result of excavation works or other causes.
The investigation traces natural gas leak accidents inside residential units in Egypt during the period from January 2024 to January 2026, in the absence of official statistics on the number of incidents. It analyses the causes of these recurring incidents, documents the shortcomings in the monitoring and maintenance system, and examines the responsibility of government bodies and gas companies for protecting citizens from serious dangers, amid the absence of a comprehensive plan to ensure the safety of citizens.
The incidents ranged from cases of asphyxiation that led to injuries, deaths or both, to fires, in addition to some buildings being wholly or partially damaged as a result of a gas pipe exploding. There are also illegal practices carried out by some workers at gas companies, consisting of carrying out connection works for some appliances, and dismantling and installing gas pipes inside residential units, without the knowledge of the companies they work for, after leading citizens to believe that they will officially notify the company on their behalf.
The investigation draws on testimonies from affected citizens, audio recordings of some of these workers, and statements from customer service employees who confirmed that this procedure is improper and violates the regulations in force within the companies, according to audio recordings obtained by Zawia3.
The Silent Killer Inside Homes
During the period from January 2024 to January 2026, we documented 113 natural gas leak incidents inside residential units in a number of different governorates. January 2026 alone recorded 17 cases, compared with 11 cases in January 2024 and January 2025. The months of January and December, which are winter months, accounted for the lion’s share of the accidents that occurred over the last two years.
By year, 55 cases occurred in 2025 compared with 41 cases in 2024, which points to a rise in the number of incidents in parallel with the expansion of gas access to different areas, without any indications that gas companies are carrying out periodic maintenance to reduce these accidents.
At the governorate level, Giza recorded the most accidents, witnessing 31 incidents on its own over the last two years, followed by Cairo in second place with 20 incidents, then Beni Suef with 14 incidents. In contrast, the governorates of Aswan, Assiut, Damietta and Qena recorded the lowest rates of incidents, and these are the governorates where work is under way and which are planned for the expansion of natural gas connections and the services related to them.
Some areas witnessed a notable recurrence of gas leak accidents at intervals, among them the city of New Beni Suef, which has been witnessing an expansion in natural gas connections to residential units since 2016. The city alone recorded 13 accidents out of a total of 14 in Beni Suef governorate, without any announcement of an official intervention to study the causes of the recurrence of these accidents, or mechanisms to control them and prevent them from happening again.
As for the type of harm caused by the gas leak incidents, asphyxiation accidents accounted for the highest share, with “98” accidents that caused deaths, injuries or both, while fires, explosions and damage to buildings came second with a total of 13 incidents, and two cases of leakage alone were documented without any material or human harm occurring.
The asphyxiation incidents and fires resulting from gas leaks during the period covered by the investigation resulted in 116 deaths, among them 37 children, in addition to 233 injuries, among them 52 children, according to the data documented in the period monitored and analysed by the investigation.
With the recurrence of gas leak incidents, Dr Sara El-Nahas, a member of the Health Committee of the House of Representatives, submitted last January a briefing request to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to be directed to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Petroleum, regarding the recurrence of gas leak accidents in homes. She explained that these accidents result from leaks of carbon monoxide gas from appliances and engines that lack adequate ventilation, especially in enclosed spaces, a colourless and odourless gas that can cause serious health damage, up to death, within minutes.
The MP stressed that the recurrence of these accidents is due to the absence of oversight and periodic maintenance by gas companies, whether with regard to the maintenance of household supply networks or the establishment of warning mechanisms for the early detection of leaks and faults, affirming that providing these measures is essential to ensuring the safety of citizens and preventing the recurrence of tragic accidents.
Likewise, MP Amr Darwish, a member of the Coordination of Party Youth Leaders and Politicians, submitted a briefing request to parliament on the recurrence of gas leak incidents. In a post on his personal Facebook page, he praised the state’s efforts in providing natural gas connection services to citizens, but stressed at the same time the need to pay attention to the dangers when this service turns into a threat to life. He added that installing self-closing devices that rely on sensing danger has become a necessity that gas companies must take into consideration to ensure the safety of consumers.
Periodic Maintenance
While the data on the incidents, compiled from news archives and official statements and then analysed, revealed the recurrence of gas leak accidents, a survey conducted by Zawia3 made it possible to learn more about the possible causes, as the survey participants confirmed the absence of any periodic maintenance work by gas companies, which reinforces suspicions that these accidents are directly linked to “neglect of maintenance and oversight”, at a time when the Egyptian government is focused on expanding the introduction of natural gas into residential units.
The survey data was collected from 110 citizens, selected by publishing the poll on a number of social media sites. The sample included men and women of various ages, backgrounds, occupations, and residential and geographical areas, to ensure geographical diversity.
Participation in the survey came from 15 governorates: (Ismailia, Aswan, Alexandria, Giza, Dakahlia, Suez, Sharqia, Gharbia, Fayoum, Cairo, Qalyubia, Menoufia, Minya, Port Said, Damietta). 94 participants recorded a subscription period of more than 3 years, while 12 participants had subscribed to the service for a period of 1 to 3 years, and only 4 participants had a subscription period of less than a year. Meanwhile, 98 participants confirmed that they had not received the periodic maintenance service from the contracted gas company throughout the contract period.
The survey results contradict what the Cabinet stated in its post on its official page on 10 February 2022, affirming the application of all security and safety measures as part of the state’s plan to expand natural gas connections to homes in the various governorates.
These standards include guiding customers with operating and emergency instructions and placing them permanently on the meter, preparing periodic maintenance schedules for all network components under the supervision of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company “EGAS”, and providing an emergency service around the clock, 24 hours a day, every day of the week, with full commitment to occupational safety and health procedures. However, the survey results revealed the absence of periodic maintenance and the failure of gas companies to actually apply these standards, reflecting a gap between official policies and the reality on the ground, according to the Cabinet’s post.
In light of the recurring incidents, 100 survey participants stressed the importance of gas companies installing gas leak detectors, along with carrying out periodic maintenance and regular technical inspection of networks and appliances, to ensure the early detection of any leak or fault, and to avoid the recurrence of incidents and the occurrence of injuries or deaths.
Commenting on the survey results, Dr Sara El-Nahas, a member of the House of Representatives for the Mostaqbal Watan Party, tells Zawia3 that there is a clear responsibility on gas companies, as the increase in leak cases reflects a defect in the maintenance and follow-up system, and not merely isolated incidents.
El-Nahas points to the survey results, in which 98 citizens confirmed that no maintenance had been carried out since installation, as constituting strong evidence that holds the companies directly responsible for the failure. She adds
In the same context, Ibrahim Ezz El-Din, a researcher on the right to housing, comments that established international standards and practices affirm that the safety of gas facilities in homes is not a secondary technical matter, but a legal and rights obligation that falls on housing and construction companies and on the bodies responsible for managing buildings.
He adds, speaking to Zawia3, that the right to adequate housing, stipulated in Article (11) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and interpreted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its General Comment No. (4), requires that housing provide protection from the structural and environmental hazards that threaten the health and lives of residents, including the dangers of gas leaks, explosions and carbon monoxide asphyxiation.
Ezz El-Din points to practical examples from countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and a number of European Union countries, where companies are obliged to carry out mandatory periodic inspections, often annual, of gas networks and the appliances connected to them, provided that these inspections are carried out by certified technicians according to clear standards, with their results documented and the responsible bodies obliged to address any defect detected before continued occupancy is permitted.
He continues that approved technical standards, such as the gas code issued by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), stress the need to adhere to safe engineering designs for gas networks, including the use of materials resistant to corrosion and pressure, ensuring adequate ventilation, and separating gas networks from the other vital utilities within the building.
In addition, regular preventive maintenance, replacing worn-out parts before they fail, and installing gas leak and carbon monoxide detectors inside residential units are among the internationally recognised basic requirements for reducing potential accidents, Ezz El-Din says.
The researcher on the right to housing explains that these obligations are not limited to technical aspects alone, but extend to ensuring transparency, notifying residents of inspection results and of the dangers of unsafe use, and providing clear instructions for dealing with emergencies, in a way that strengthens individuals’ ability to protect themselves.
Ezz El-Din concludes that any breach of these obligations, whether through the absence of periodic inspection, weak oversight or confining action to intervening after accidents occur, does not represent an administrative shortcoming only, but constitutes a fundamental violation of the right to adequate housing, and a failure to fulfil the duties incumbent on companies and the state in protecting the right to health and life inside the home.
For his part, engineer Ahmed Yahia, a consultant in occupational safety, health and environmental management, says that international safety legislation identifies the types of potential hazards and the methods of preventing them through their analysis and assessment, noting that legal responsibility for these hazards falls on the producing and implementing companies.
He adds that this obliges the companies and contractors responsible for connecting gas to homes to comply with this legislation, whether through awareness leaflets or through periodic field follow-up of homes, even after some time has passed since the connection, to ensure compliance with the instructions and that residents understand the safety procedures, in order to reduce potential risks. He affirms that the companies are bound to do so by a legal and moral obligation.
Another Face of the Absence of Oversight
The gas leak crises did not stop at the absence of periodic maintenance by the company, but also took the form of a slow response at times, which pushes some citizens to look for alternatives, something that has created parallel paths for reporting faults, moving from official channels to personal paths not subject to oversight.
The survey results showed that 60 participants had not experienced a response from gas companies, while 25 participants indicated that the response happens within hours, 21 participants stated that the response takes from one to two days, and 4 participants considered that the response takes longer than that.
Fatma Abdel Razek (a pseudonym), an Egyptian citizen from Qalyubia governorate, says that when any problem related to natural gas occurs, she turns to one of the workers affiliated with the gas company, whom she got to know through her neighbours, as he responds quickly.
Fatma explains to Zawia3 that he works at one of the gas companies and introduces himself to residents as the link between them and the company, receiving reports from them directly on the basis that he will notify the company later, without citizens having to contact customer service.
She continues: “The worker visits the customer for the first time after the customer calls the company, then gives them his phone number, so that he is contacted directly on later occasions without going back to the company.”
In a journalistic attempt to verify this claim, the author of the investigation contacted the worker, posing as a citizen living in a district of Qalyubia governorate who wanted to dismantle the gas pipes because of breaking and repair works on the bathroom and kitchen walls. The worker confirmed that he could come directly without the need to contact the company, and that calling him was enough, on the basis that he himself would notify the company.
For our part, we contacted the customer service of three different companies to verify the worker’s claims, but all of them confirmed that reporting the dismantling and installation of gas pipes (“decor dismantling”), or any technical faults, is done exclusively through direct contact with the company, stressing that the claim by some workers that they are a link between the citizen and the company is “untrue” and falls within attempts at fraud.
Commenting, MP Sara El-Nahas says that some gas company workers carrying out installation or dismantling work outside the official framework is an illegal and dangerous act that requires tightening oversight and accountability over the companies, and criminalising any technical intervention outside the approved channels out of concern for the safety of citizens. She stresses the need for families to verify the identity of the technician and the nature of his work, and to obtain an official permit from the company he belongs to, before allowing him to enter.
On the legal responsibility borne by companies as a result of gas leak incidents, Hamdy Khalaf, a lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, says that determining responsibility in gas accidents cannot be based on a single cause or uniform circumstances, stressing the need to study each incident separately to determine whether the accident resulted from misuse by the contracting party or from negligence by the gas company.
Khalaf considers the confirmation by more than 90 survey participants that they did not receive the periodic maintenance service to be an explicit violation of the terms of the contract, which places the companies before civil liability if the contracting party is harmed.
Khalaf explains that the legal responsibility of companies is divided into two main parts: civil liability, which means obliging the party responsible to compensate the injured party for material losses, as long as no human losses occurred. And criminal liability, which is resorted to when deaths or human injuries occur.
On the investigation procedures, he points out that every accident involving a death is subject to investigation by the Public Prosecution, which includes referral to forensic medicine and the assignment of specialised technical bodies to prepare a report determining whether there is suspicion of a crime or negligence. Whether or not charges are brought against the company depends on what is stated in the technical report, as well as on whether the victim or their relatives explicitly accused the company in the investigations.
He affirms that compensation in cases of “civil liability” is not paid automatically; rather, the holder of the civil right must file a lawsuit to claim it. Likewise, with criminal liability, families must accuse the companies during the investigation in the absence of negligence, and this has not happened because of a lack of legal awareness and the treatment of these accidents as “fate and destiny”, which leads to the loss of the rights of a large number of those affected, despite the existence of a legal, and sometimes criminal, liability for which the contracted company can be held to account.
The incidents that were documented and compiled, the citizens’ testimonies, the survey and the specialists show that the rapid expansion of natural gas connections to homes has not been accompanied by sufficient oversight or periodic maintenance, which exposes citizens to real dangers threatening their lives and health. The informal practices of some workers reveal the slowness of some companies in responding quickly, in addition to the weakness of the existing consumer protection system, while international legislation and standards affirm the safety of gas facilities as a legal and moral obligation on companies and the state. The question now is: will the state pay attention to the crisis of rising gas leak cases and the absence of periodic maintenance, so that the matter does not become a threat to their lives, or will “the silent killer” remain present inside homes, with no priority given to safety and oversight?
