Fourteen people died in a fire that broke out Wednesday evening at a hospital treating coronavirus patients in North Macedonia, local authorities said on Thursday.

"Prosecutors have ordered autopsies to identify the bodies of the 14 people who died in the fire and we are looking into whether there are others dead," a prosecutor's office statement said.

Several other people were also injured, local media said. 

The fire broke out following an explosion in a COVID-19 clinic in Tetovo, in the northwest of the Balkan country, said Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. 

The blaze has been put out and an investigation into the cause is underway.

Health Minister Venko Filipce had earlier expressed "profound condolences" to the victims' families on Twitter.

(With input from AFP)