Egyptian commandos plucked six Israelis to safety from their Cairo embassy as protesters stormed the building and dumped diplomatic papers from a balcony, an Israeli official said today.

"Six people were actually trapped in the embassy and there was a real concern for their lives," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "In the end they were successfully rescued by Egyptian commandos."

Egypt declared a state of high alert after police clashed with protesters who raided a building housing the Israeli embassy, prompting Washington to call for protection of the mission.

During the violence, in which one person died of a heart attack and 448 people were injured, according to state television, protesters torched police trucks and attacked regional police headquarters.

Israeli public radio said the six rescued men were security officers.

The official said that protesters were elsewhere on the embassy premises while the men were holed up.

"There was one wall between them," he said, adding that Ambassador Yitzhak Levanon, other staff and dependants had left Egypt earlier.

"When the violence got out of hand, some 80 (Israelis) were taken out" of Egypt, he said. "All our people are safe and sound."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a brief statement on Saturday morning that the six had also arrived back in Israel and were well.