site.btaTrain Carrying LPG Derails in Plovdiv, No One Injured

ESD 16:42:31 16-02-2019
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105 HOME AFFAIRS - TRAIN - DERAILING

Train Carrying LPG Derails in Plovdiv,
No One
Injured


Sofia, February 16 (BTA) - A train carrying liquefied petroleum gas was derailed in the South Central town of Plovdiv on Saturday morning. No one was injured and the local people are not at risk.

The train had 24 tank wagons, including two empty ones. After a rail broke, two engines and two tank wagons were derailed at Plovdiv's central station at 4:16 am. They did not overturn but went off the railway. Multiple checks have not found any gas leakage, said Commissioner Georgi Mangarakov, head of Plovdiv's Fire Safety and Population Protection Regional Directorate.

The train is owned by Bulmarket, the company whose train exploded in the northeastern village of Hitrino in December 2016, killing seven people and causing extensive damage to property. The same engine was involved in both incidents, said Plovdiv Regional Prosecutor Roumen Popov.

The National Investigation Service is looking into a transport offence involving property damage, said the Prosecutor General's Spokesperson Roumyana Arnaudova.

All three engine drivers tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

Bulmarket manager Peter Ganev said the train was running at 35 km/h, the speed limit being 40 km/h. Initial findings suggest a point problem was the likely cause of the incident. LN/DD