Twelve people were hurt Thursday in an explosion and fire at a chemical plant near Cairo International Airport, a source in the Egyptian security services told EFE.

The injured were taken to hospitals, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. </s> Image copyright EPA Image caption Emergency teams at the scene of the explosion, a petrochemical plant near Cairo International Airport

Twelve people have been injured after an explosion at a chemical factory near Cairo's airport, Egypt's state news agency MENA says.

They have been hospitalised, but the severity of their injuries is not yet known.

An army spokesman said the blast was caused by "high temperatures" at a fuel storage facility.

Air traffic at the airport has not been affected, Egypt's aviation minister Younis al-Masri confirmed.

According to eyewitnesses, the sound of the explosion was deafening and flames could be seen from a distance.

Pictures shared on social media appear to show a fireball rising into the air in the Heliopolis district.

Firefighters have since managed to subdue the flames, according to state television. </s> An explosion at a chemical factory near Cairo’s main airport has injured at least a dozen people, reports said.

Firefighters have contained the fire caused by the blast late on Thursday at a storage facility, an interior ministry spokesman said.

There were no reports of any deaths. The official said the wounded were being treated in hospital.

Images circulated online showed huge flames and thick smoke billowing up into the sky.

Army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said the explosion was the result of the “high temperature”.

Temperatures in Cairo have reached into the high 90s (above 32C) in recent days – not unusual for the Egyptian capital in the summer.

The civil aviation ministry said the explosion happened outside the airport’s perimeter and air traffic was not disrupted. </s> A large explosion ripped through two storage area containing fuel in the vicinity of the international airport in Cairo, Egypt, according to the country’s civil aviation minister. The blaze raged for about 45 minutes.

An Egyptian Army spokesman, however, shortly after said that the explosion occurred at a chemical factory near the airport, and was the result of high temperatures. The chemical factory explanation and the fuel tankers reports were both widely circulated on social media after the explosion — it remains unclear whether the two are connected.

At any rate, a large plume of smoke could be seen shooting forth from a location close to the airport, social media reports indicated Thursday. The blast injured three people, an Egyptian official said, though the nature and severity of the injuries have not been spelled out. An official source in Egypt told Sputnik the incident hurt 12 people after reports of three injured. </s> CAIRO — Egypt’s state-run news agency says a blast at a chemical factory near Cairo’s main airport injured at least a dozen people.

MENA early Friday quoted an unnamed Interior Ministry official as saying firefighters had contained the fire caused by the blast late Thursday in a storage facility.

There were no reports of deaths. The official said the wounded were hospitalized for treatment.

Images circulated online showed huge flames and thick smoke billowing up into the sky.

Army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said the explosion was the result of the “high temperature.” Temperatures in Cairo have reached into the high 90s, low 100 degrees Fahrenheit in recent days, not unusual for Cairo in the summer.

The Civil Aviation Ministry said the explosion happened outside the airport’s perimeter and air traffic was undisrupted. </s> Seventeen people have died and 32 have been injured in an explosion outside Egypt’s National Cancer Institute in central Cairo, Egypt’s health ministry said early on Monday, Reuters reports.

A car driving against traffic on Cairo’s corniche collided with three other cars, causing the explosion, Egypt’s interior ministry said in a statement.

Egypt’s public prosecutor is investigating the cause of the incident, sources told Reuters, but there was no official statement indicating that the explosion was an attack. </s> At least 17 were killed and 32 others injured in an explosion outside Egypt's National Cancer Institute in central Cairo, Egypt's health ministry said early on Monday.

A car driving against traffic on Cairo's corniche collided with three other cars, causing the explosion, Egypt's interior ministry said in a statement.

Videos posted online showed fire trucks trying to control a massive fire, which damaged several cars.

Egypt's public prosecutor is investigating the cause of the incident, sources told Reuters, but there was no official statement indicating that the explosion was an attack. </s> CAIRO — Seventeen people have died and 32 have been injured in an explosion outside Egypt’s National Cancer Institute in central Cairo, Egypt’s health ministry said early on Monday.

A car driving against traffic on Cairo’s corniche collided with three other cars, causing the explosion, Egypt’s interior ministry said in a statement.

Egypt’s public prosecutor is investigating the cause of the incident, sources told Reuters, but there was no official statement indicating that the explosion was an attack. (Reporting by Haitham Ahmed, Alaa Swilam and Mahmoud Reda Mourad, Writing by Nafisa Eltahir; editing by Grant McCool) </s> CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's state-run news agency says a blast at a chemical factory near Cairo's main airport injured at least a dozen people.

MENA early Friday quoted an unnamed Interior Ministry official as saying firefighters had contained the fire caused by the blast late Thursday in a storage facility.

There were no reports of deaths. The official said the wounded were hospitalized for treatment.

This photo provided by Taher Amer Fathy shows an explosion at a chemicals factory in Cairo on Thursday, July 12, 2018. A military spokesman, Col. Tamer al-Rifai, said on Facebook that the explosion occurred in a petrochemical warehouse of the Heliopolis chemical company. (Taher Amer Fathy via AP)

Images circulated online showed huge flames and thick smoke billowing up into the sky.

Army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said the explosion was the result of the "high temperature." Temperatures in Cairo have reached into the high 90s, low 100 degrees Fahrenheit in recent days, not unusual for Cairo in the summer.

The Civil Aviation Ministry said the explosion happened outside the airport's perimeter and air traffic was undisrupted.
An explosion at a chemical plant near Cairo, Egypt, injures 12 people.