At least six people have been killed after an explosion tore through an apartment building in the Paris suburb of Rosny-sous-Bois.

It's believed a gas leak is likely to have caused the blast in the eastern suburb of the French capital.

12 people were pulled alive from the debris.

Rescue workers used sniffer dogs overnight to search for remaining survivors.

The blast happened at around 7 o'clock yesterday morning Irish time, causing 15 apartments to collapse.

Television images of the building showed one side ripped off completely, exposing the interiors of the apartments inside.