Three children have been killed and seven others were seriously injured in a gas cylinder explosion at their home in northern Macedonia, the Associated Press reported.

An eight-year-old boy and a girl aged 9 and 11 died instantly when a gas bottle exploded in the living room of a family home in the village of Romanovce. Firefighters later extinguished the blaze, NY Times reported.

According to local media, the explosion occurred while the family was having breakfast.

Four women, one of whom is pregnant, and a 10-year-old boy are among the injured. They were taken to a clinic in Skopje with severe burns. According to the latest information, another 58-year-old man has died at the hospital.

"Four of the patients are in life-threatening condition with high degree of burns. One of the patients is a child with smaller area of burns," said Venko Filipce, minister for health.

The family is from the Albanian minority in Northern Macedonia.