Rescue workers in Rotterdam who are combing through the wreckage of several apartments after an explosion have found a second and possibly third body.

Three people were reported missing when the explosion happened in a lock-up under the building earlier this week. The first body was found by family members and the second, that of a 22-year-old man, was recovered on Thursday evening.

The third body was found at around 5.30 am on Friday police said.

The explosion damaged several apartments in the low-rise building, which have now been declared uninhabitable. The source of the blast has not yet been established.

Earlier, riot police were drafted in to keep relatives of the dead men off the site because of the risk of collapse.