Rescue teams worked through the night to pull out survivors after a massive explosion at the main headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company killed 25 people and injured 101, Belfast Telegraph said.

Interior minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said 17 women and eight men died in Thursday, January 31 night's blast.

Many casualties remain trapped in the rubble, as soldiers with rescue dogs, lorries with mounted lights and a crane were brought in to help with rescue efforts.

The blast wrecked the basement and two floors of the Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, building in Mexico City and sent hundreds fleeing into the street.

The Interior Ministry said it was unsure of the exact number trapped because many were outside having lunch when the explosion happened at about 3.45pm local time in a basement parking garage next to the famous 51-storey tower of Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, one of the tallest buildings in Mexico City.

President Enrique Pena Nieto said authorities had not yet found what caused the blast in the 14-storey building in a busy commercial and residential area.