A strong explosion at a chemical tank near Cairo airport in the east of the Egyptian capital has left at least a dozen people injured, the army said on Thursday night.

[CAIRO] A strong explosion at a chemical tank near Cairo airport in the east of the Egyptian capital has left at least a dozen people injured, the army said on Thursday night.

Witnesses reported the blast after hearing a loud noise, and images of flames and smoke were shared on social media.

Security sources said the 12 injured people were taken to hospital for treatment.

Army spokesman Tamer el-Refai said on Twitter an "increase in heat" caused the explosion, which took place at a company specialising in "chemical industries" in an area controlled by the army.

The area was cordoned off by a strong police presence, according to an AFP correspondent on site, who said fire engines and emergency vehicles were sent to fight the flames and help the wounded.

The Department of Civil Aviation denied that the explosion took place inside the airport, as indicated by some witnesses.

"Departing and arriving flights are not affected," he added.</s>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>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.</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>CAIRO, July 13 — A strong explosion at a chemical tank near Cairo airport in the east of the Egyptian capital has left at least a dozen people injured, the army said last night.

Witnesses reported the blast after hearing a loud noise, and images of flames and smoke were shared on social media.

Security sources said the 12 injured people were taken to hospital for treatment.

Army spokesman Tamer el-Refai said on Twitter an “increase in heat” caused the explosion, which took place at a company specialising in “chemical industries” in an area controlled by the army.

The area was cordoned off by a strong police presence, according to an AFP correspondent on site, who said fire engines and emergency vehicles were sent to fight the flames and help the wounded.

The Department of Civil Aviation denied that the explosion took place inside the airport, as indicated by some witnesses.

“Departing and arriving flights are not affected,” he added. — AFP</s>CAIRO, July 12 (Reuters) - An Egyptian military spokesman said on Thursday that an earlier explosion near fuel tanks outside Cairo airport took place at a chemicals factory and had been caused by high temperatures.

The spokesman, Colonel Tamer al-Rifai, said the plant was called Heliopolis for Chemical Industries, but did not say who owned the facility. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi, editing by G Crosse)</s>At least 12 people were injured late Thursday when an explosion tore through a petrochemical warehouse near Cairo International Airport, according to military sources.

“High temperatures caused an explosion at a chemical warehouse owned by the Heliopolis Chemical Industries Company (CIC),” Egyptian army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said in a Friday statement.

“Civil-defense teams quickly rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze,” he said.

CIC is a subsidiary of Egypt’s Ministry of Military Production.

Basim Abdulkareem, a Civil Aviation Ministry spokesman, told Anadolu Agency late Thursday that the explosion that caused the fire had been heard many kilometers from the airport.

In a statement issued after the fire was put out, the ministry described air traffic at the airport as “normal”.

Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, chairman of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, however, said some flights were suspended for “security reasons”.</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>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.
An explosion at a chemical plant near Cairo, Egypt, injures 12 people.