A HUGE fire broke out on Thursday in an oil pipeline running to Cairo in a desert area south of the Egyptian capital, police said. The fire was started by a blast in an underground section of the Mostorod pipeline at 2.30pm in the Zahraa al-Maadi area. The cause of the blast is not certain, but might have been a short circuit in an electric cable. At least three firefighters are being treated for smoke inhalation. The Mostorod pipeline is 135km long and carries 5-million tons of petroleum products annually to Cairo from oilfields in the eastern Suez region.