An explosion at a weapons depot in Syria is reported to have killed at least 39 civilians.

Rescue workers have been using bulldozers to remove rubble after the explosion caused a building to collapse.

Ten people have been pulled out alive so far.

A dozen children were among those killed, according to the UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 

BBC reports that the building is thought to have contained weapons belonging to an arms dealer.

The cause of the blast, which brought down the whole multi-storey building block, is unknown.

Picture by: AP/Press Association Images

The explosion happened in Sarmada in Idlib, which remains one of the few significant rebel-held areas in Syria.

The Syrian conflict began in 2011, and has left hundreds of thousands of people dead.