At at least four people have been killed and 23 are injured after a train derailed and containers of gas exploded in Bulgaria, firefighters say.

At least 20 buildings in the village of Hitrino in north east Bulgaria were destroyed in the blast early on Saturday as containers carrying liquefied petroleum gas exploded, Nikolay Nikolov, head of the country's firefighting department, said.

He said the immediate area around the site has been evacuated and that the cause of the disaster is unclear.

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The accident happened at 5.40am local time and video from the scene shows many houses in the village of 800 on fire as ambulances take the injured to hospital.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov is traveling to the village, the government said. He has urged citizens to donate blood to address shortages at nearby hospitals.