site.bta27-Year-Old Charged for Deadly Train Car Fire at Sofia Central Station

The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office charged a 27-year-old man for setting fire to a train car parked at Sofia Central Railway Station, resulting in the deaths of four people, the Prosecutor's Office reported on Thursday. The court has imposed a detention measure, which is not final and can be appealed. 

The accused is alleged to have set the fire, but denies intending to cause fatalities. In a hearing for permanent arrest, the court concurred with the prosecutor's argument that there is sufficient evidence to suggest the man is the author of the crime.

The man has no permanent address in Bulgaria, lives a vagabond lifestyle and has already been convicted before.

The incident was reported at 2:35 am on December 31. According to initial data from the investigation, the incident took place after a confrontation between two people and led one of them to set the train car on fire. Nine people were in two neighboring cars, two were severely injured, and four people died.