Al-Arish, Egypt  - One man was killed and another was injured on Friday when a fire broke out in a tunnel used to smuggle petrol from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, a security source told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa.

The tunnel, which was used to smuggle petrol into the Gaza Strip through plastic pipes, caught fire on Friday morning, the security source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Mohammed Awad al-Shaer, 24, died as soon as he arrived at the hospital in al-Arish, the nearest large town to Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip. His brother Sami, though badly injured, managed to escape from the hospital.

The tunnels - which are used to smuggle basic supplies, drugs, and weapons into the Gaza Strip in defiance of a blockade that has been in place almost without interruption since Hamas won elections in Gaza in 2006 - have been a consistent source of dispute between Egypt and Israel. (dpa)