CAIRO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least three people have been killed during a gas leakage in the northern Egyptian port city of Alexandria, the state MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

    The three workers died from the gas leakage of a large petroleum tank in the El-Ameraya Petroleum Refining Company in Alexandria, some 220 km northwest of Cairo, said the report.

    Some 17 others suffocated in the accident, said the report, without elaborating details of the tragic event.

    The Egyptian general prosecution has ordered to carry out an investigation into the mishap, added MENA.