MEXICO CITY (AFP) - A gas tanker exploded in a Mexico City suburb on Tuesday, killing at least nine people, wounding 13 others and damaging several homes and cars, an official said.

The blast rocked a neighbourhood of Ecatepec, north of the Mexican capital, in the early hours of the day, affecting 15 cars and 20 homes, said Mr Salvador Neme, the public safety secretary for the state of Mexico.

"We regrettably confirm that in the explosion in Ecatepec, nine people died and 13 were wounded and taken to hospitals," he wrote on Twitter.