At least 12 people were injured and taken to hospital after an explosion on Thursday night in a chemicals factory outside Egypt's main airport in Cairo.

A plume of smoke could be seen rising from at the scene of the explosion.

Egyptian army spokesman said the blast was caused by high temperatures in a storage facility belonging to a local petrochemicals company.

Aviation Minister Younis al-Masri said air traffic at the airport was unaffected by the explosion, which could be heard across the area.