A gas explosion at a Florida jail has reportedly killed two people and left up to 150 inmates and corrections officers hurt.

County spokeswoman Kathleen Castro said the blast triggered the partial collapse of Escambia County Jail's booking facility building.

NBC is reporting that at least two prisoners were killed in the explosion, which happened at around 11pm local time on Wednesday. Around 600 inmates were in the building at the time.

Ms. Castro said she did not know if flooding in the area was a factor, but that the prison did suffer extensive flooding during heavy rains in the region on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The injured were taken to hospital while inmates who were unhurt were taken to jails in neighbouring counties.

No escapees were reported.

Ms. Castro said officials were scrambling to get people out of the building, provide medical care, and working to make sure inmates were detained and routed to other facilities.

Sacred Heart Hospital and West Florida Hospital in Pensacola said the injuries they had treated were all relatively minor.

Vicki Brooks, a spokeswoman for Sacred Heart, said they treated 31 patients with mostly neck and back injuries.

Kendrick Doidge said West Florida Hospital treated 37 inmates in the emergency room and that all had been released back into the custody of the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.