According to Saudi satellite television and other media reports, a strong explosion occurred in the eastern capital of Egypt's Cairo local time on the 13th, the Egyptian military spokesman Gabriel Abdul-Hafiz said that the afternoon "professional technicians" were demolishing an abandoned residual explosive device in a weapons ammunition workshop, triggering the explosion.

According to the report, Hafez said that the explosion happened suddenly and caused several consecutive explosions, which could be felt by residents in the incident site and surrounding areas. Hafiz assured the public that the situation was under control and that "professional engineering teams are implementing a number of technical and preventive measures". He also said that at present, the "Technical Committee" is conducting an investigation to determine the specific circumstances of the incident.