Vienna building collapse: Four people seriously injured after suspected gas explosion in Austrian capital

Four people have been seriously injured after part of a building collapsed in Vienna.

A presumed gas explosion caused the partial collapse of several floors of up to two buildings in the Austrian capital on Wednesday, police said in a statement.

The blast reportedly happened at the Pressgase and Schaffergasse streets shortly after 4.30pm local time.

A spokesman for the city's ambulance service said that several other people were also hurt in the collapse.

Footage posted on social media showed a hole three or four floors high in the front of what appears to be a residential building, with the street covered in dust and small debris.

"(It's) as if a bomb flew in and tore a huge hole in the facade," a spokesman for the fire brigade said.

A fire brigade spokesman said there was a crater in the front of a building in the fourth district of the Austrian capital, bordering the city centre.

Emergency services are on the scene, with firefighters searching the buildings for anyone injured.

Neighbouring properties have also been evacuated.