Fourteen people are reported to have died after a fire broke out at a workshop for people with disabilities in Germany.

Seven people were also injured in the blaze, which occurred in the small town of Titisee-Neustadt in southwestern Germany, according to the local news agency DPA.

The fire broke out around 2pm local time (1pm GMT), according to media reports and had still not been extinguished nearly two hours later.

Police were unable to determine the cause of the blaze at the workshop housing 120 people with disabilities.

DPA quoted a source as saying there had been an explosion in a storage room.

It was still unclear whether chemicals were stored in the room, but the workshop activities include the treatment of wood.

Several people were removed from the building by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus, according to Focus magazine.