Nine people were killed and 16 others injured in a gas explosion in eastern Algeria which caused a three-storey building to collapse on Thursday, national television said.

Rescue workers were searching the rubble in the town of Bordj Bou Arreridj for possible victims or survivors, local authorities said, adding that neighboring houses had been damaged.

The explosion, which occurred in the morning, "was caused by a gas leak", a local official said.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent a message of condolence to the bereaved families, AFP reported.

In February eight people, including three children, were killed by a gas explosion at a home in the neighboring town of Setif.