UPDATED

Residents were woken by a huge blast that left a man trapped under rubble, injured two people and caused a that fire destroyed a convenience store in Sydney’s inner west.

The explosion also blew out windows across the road, a witness said.

Police have set up a crime scene at the store on Darling Street, Rozelle as firefighters continue to hose down the blaze, which started just after 4am on Thursday.

A male employee was rescued from under fallen debris in the shop, while two men who lived above the store suffered minor injuries from exploding glass, police said.

Residents say they were woken by a loud explosion which was also heard in neighbouring Drummoyne, and Balmain.

“There were flames everywhere, it just looks like an absolute bomb scene,” one resident told ABC Radio on Thursday.

“The explosion even knocked out windows across the road,” another witness said.

It will be some time until the area is deemed safe, Fire and Rescue NSW says.

Darling Street remains closed.

Firefighters say a woman and her baby son are missing after a fire tore through a Sydney store.

Emergency services are involved in a delicate rescue operation with three people unaccounted for after a blaze destroyed a convenience store and adjacent units in Sydney’s inner-west early on Thursday.

A search is on for the 31 year old woman, her 12 month old son and an unrelated 30 year old man with firefighters concerned about the stability of surrounding buildings on Darling Street in Rozelle.

Emergency services are attempting to shore up the walls of the surrounding buildings and put cameras into voids.

Dogs are being used to try to locate the missing trio who lived in neighbouring apartments.

“It’s still a rescue and horrific as the scene is down there we are still holding out hope that there are some survivors,” NSW Fire and Rescue (NSWFR) superintendent, Paul Johnstone, said.

“We always hold out hope. It’s not a recovery operation and we’re still hoping to find some survivors.”

Neighbour Anthony Carroll, who lost everything in the fire, said he was asleep in a unit next door where he lived with his father when he heard a massive explosion.

“Within 30 seconds my room was full of smoke,” he said.

“I just grabbed what I’ve got on and got out of there. There were people screaming and yelling and people trapped in the place next door so it was pandemonium.

“No one knew what was going on. I’ve been a bit emotional about it.”

AAP