At least 16 people have been taken to hospital after a mass shooting at a playground in New Orleans, according to US reports.

It is understood that as many as 500 people were at the "Bunny Friend" park at the time of the attack, as a music video was being filmed.

Tyler Gamble, a police spokesman, said officers had been on their way to the playground to break up a large crowd when gunfire erupted - reportedly between two groups who had been fighting.

He explained that the 16 victims in hospital either suffered a "direct gunshot wound" or a graze wound, and that the full extent of their injuries is yet to be determined.

However, Superintendent Michael Harrison has been quoted by a local newspaper as saying "no one has died at this time".

Eyewitnesses told a local CBS news station that at least two gunmen had been firing into the crowd - and several people were lying on the sidewalk in the aftermath of the shooting.

Another told the Times-Picayune newspaper how they saw a man with a silver machine gun.

Several ambulances have left the scene, and 10 of the victims have been taken to the University Medical Centre. Others have been taken in private vehicles.