AT LEAST two residents are dead after a huge blaze ripped through an apartment building in Dallas.

Terrifying footage shows the inferno overwhelm the two-story complex as huge plumes of black smoke billow into the sky.

Apartment Fire Dallas
A massive fire has ripped through a Dallas apartment building, with 11 residents still missingCredit: AP
 

A building engulfed in flames with thick black smoke billowing upwards.
The horror blaze was caused by a reported gas explosion
Four people are injured and a further 11 are missing as firefighters battle through the smouldering rubble.

“There have been fatalities at this point,” Dallas Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Mark Berry said, adding that the mission has changed from rescue to recovery.

“Let us work through the recovery phase and get a total number.”

Dozens of first responders streamed to the scene in search of victims, even as fire crews drench the charred debris.

Berry revealed that firefighters were responding to a gas leak when an explosion occurred.

He said: “We had the cavalry coming. But the explosion had already taken place.”

The source of the explosion is so far unclear, but city officials confirmed that no maintenance of the building was being done at the time.

Assistant Chief of Dallas Fire-Rescue James Russ confirmed that four people had been rushed to hospital with injuries.

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Large column of black smoke rising into the sky from a city street.
Huge plumes of smoke could be seen across the city
 

Apartment Fire Dallas
Dozens of emergency workers are conducting search operations at the sceneCredit: AP
He added: “It is unknown how many possible fatalities we may have.”

When help arrived, some firefighters trained their hoses on the burning building while others tore through the wreckage in search of survivors.

Little more than a blackened shell of the original block remains.

“The fire is contained, but our members are still working on the scene to do primary searches,” Russ said.

Fire trucks, ambulances and police cars still line a nearby street.

Neighbour Julie Jensen, who lived just a block away, said her ears were left ringing after the explosion.

She said: “I was sitting on my couch watching TV – stuff flew off our walls.”

Jensen said she saw smoke spiralling and residents fleeing when she looked out of her window.

She grabbed her family cat and headed for a nearby car park to wait until it was safe.

Local mechanic Sal De La Rosa said that “all of a sudden we just heard and felt this huge boom.”

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“We felt where the building kind of shook a little bit,” he added.

De La Rosa and a co-worker were greeted by the horrific sight of thick smoke rising when they went outside.