Czech firefighters are battling a major chemical blaze in eastern Czech Republic after a freight train derailed and carcinogenic benzol from damaged tank wagons caught fire.

A major train accident occurred in Czech Moravia, about 50 km from the border with Poland. The footage of the fire resembles films about the apocalypse.

A goods train carrying toxic and flammable benzene derailed in the east of the Czech Republic, with the engine and at least five tank trucks catching alight, the fire services reported on Friday. Images showed a plume of black smoke following the derailment near the small town of Hustopece nad Becvou.