At least 15 hurt as explosion rocks Wirral near Liverpool in the UK

An explosion has rocked the English city of Liverpool.

The Telegraph reports 15 people were injured in the blast in the Wirral area of Merseyside after 9pm local time on Saturday.

The paper reports 15 customers eating at a Chinese restaurant were hurt and taken to hospital.

The blast is believed to have come from a nearby disused dance studio. The building has been destroyed.

At least 10 ambulances have been seen at the site while emergency services spokespeople have said they currently believe the incident to be a gas explosion.

The Mirror reports witnesses have seen victims trapped under the rubble. At least two buildings are believed to have been leveled.

“Some people were under the rubble. It was horrific... Our whole house shook and we just saw a big cloud of smoke," Lew Hopkins told the paper.

Nearby store owner Bino Shan told BBC police told him the blast was related to gas.

"The building is gone, my door is damaged and broken. It's really scary, it was a big explosion but I didn't see any fire," he said.

"The police said the gas blew up."