Updated 4pm

AT LEAST 14 people have been killed in an explosion at a café popular among foreign tourists in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh.

The government has described it as a suspected criminal act, AP reports.

The explosion just before noon tore the facade off the two-story terracotta-colored Argana café, leaving awnings dangling. Panicked passersby dragged away bodies and tried to put out flames with fire extinguishers.

Al Jazeera reports an official source as saying the blast appeared to have been caused by gas canisters catching fire in the café in the city’s main square, Jamaa el-Fna, a busy tourist spot.

The nationalities of the victims were not immediately clear but a Portuguese tourist Alexandre Carvalho told AP: “I saw people in a panic running towards the area with fire extinguishers, some people being carried away.

“I believe the injured were mostly tourists, judging by what they were wearing.”

The department of foreign affairs told TheJournal.ie that there are no reports of any Irish citizens being injured in explosion.

Pictures from the scene of the blast are being posted on Twitter from user @outcastdigital who also reports that among the casualties are kitchen staff.

- with reporting from AP