A fire at a German workshop for people with disabilities has left 14 dead.

The workshop employs 120 people in jobs such as metalworking and woodworking. It's not clear what caused the fire this afternoon, but local news reported there was an explosion in a storage room.

There may have been chemicals at the facility, since wood treatment was done there, Sky News reports. At least six others were injured in the blaze in the country's southwest.