A gas blast at a university canteen in Algeria killed seven students and left 40 others injured, the APS news agency reported.

The students were eating dinner in Tlemcen, 520 kilometres (320 miles) southwest of the capital Algiers when the explosion occurred.

The head of the area's university works department said that gas had accumulated in the basement of the building following a leak.

The Bakhti Abdelmajid University where the accident took place is known to be in a dilapidated state.