CAIRO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and six others injured on Sunday during routine maintenance work on a gas pipeline in Egypt's Ismailia Governorate, east of Cairo, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said.

In a statement, the ministry reported that emergency teams rushed to the Abu Sultan area after receiving a report of a "loud noise" at 6:40 p.m. local time (1540 GMT).

The incident occurred while crews were preparing the line for maintenance, the ministry said, noting that the affected section was empty of natural gas at the time. Technical teams later determined that a "sending trap" had detached from the pipeline at a welded joint.

The ministry said the accident did not affect the country's gas supply, as the pipeline was already out of service.

An investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause of the accident, according to the ministry. ■