A state of emergency remains in force in Pirot following the accident involving a freight train loaded with ammonia that derailed in neighboring Serbia.
Traffic on the highway to the Serbian capital is still closed. As cars traveling to Nis and Belgrade have to make a detour through Bela Palanka.
In Pirot, the Crisis Staff met this morning to decide whether to lift the emergency measures.
Authorities in Serbia have installed mobile stations to measure air pollution. And for NOVA the deputy mayor of Pirot announced that the headquarters has decided to run out of ammonia, after which the operation of lifting the tankers will begin.
Emergency in Serbia after the derailment of ammonia tanks (REVIEW)
A family with a child is among 6 Bulgarians caught in the fog. They leave the car without even taking their ID card to escape the danger zone.
“They find themselves in a crisis situation when, traveling calmly on the motorway, they suddenly fall into a completely impenetrable cloud. We have had contact with the people in question, who needed to release a passavan if access to the their cars,” said Dimitar Tsanev, Bulgaria’s consul in Nis, broadcast on NOVA
They manage to get their documents. and a Bulgarian was placed in the Niš Clinical Center.
“He too left his vehicle, was met by an emergency team and taken to Nis. He was examined, he was discharged from the health facility and is expected to leave for Bulgaria today,” confirmed Tsanev.
Field work continues. During the night, 2 mobile posts were set up in Pirot. They are located in the industrial area of the city and near the crash site.
Depending on the data communicated, the authorities will decide whether to ease the measures in the city and when to withdraw the tankers.
“All the stations we have installed show that the ammonia is within normal parameters and that there is no pollution after the accident,” Pirot Deputy Mayor Milos Tsolich told NOVA.
The decision was made to drain the ammonia from the caved in tank because it is released in small quantities and is safe for the public.
On Bulgarian territory, no high values of ammonia in the air have been reported
“Now ammonia is still coming out and, on the other hand, it is highly flammable. It is a big risk to leave cars on the highway and the situation needs to be carefully assessed,” Tsolich said.
In connection with the incident, the Bulgarian authorities also set up a mobile station in the Kalotina area, no violations were reported on our territory either.
“At the moment, the wind is from the south/south-east in Pirot, which shows that there is no danger for Bulgaria, but all services in Bulgaria have taken positions so that they can warn the population about such a cloud in good time incoming ammonia as a preventive measure,” said Krasimir Dimitrov, director of “Emergency Assistance” at the Metropolitan Municipality.
The advice of the authorities is not to go to Pirot again today.
So far, 2 victims have been confirmed. Authorities have yet to determine whether the first victim died of heart disease or poisoning.
The other victim is a Turkish national, a lorry driver. He gets out of the vehicle and starts running in the thick smoke, but loses his bearings and falls off the bridge.
His body was later found in the river.
There are no exceeded values of ammonia in Pirot
According to the latest data, the state of emergency in Serbia will remain until the train is removed from the tracks.
Subsequently, it will become clear how children will go to school, online or in person.
According to the mayor of Pirot, the responsibility for the situation lies with “Serbia Cargo”, the company that handles rail transport in the country.
The air and water parameters were also measured. They are very good. The authorities are adamant: there is no reason to panic in the city. Citizens can view the results online on an electronic page.
100 units is the limit value for the presence of ammonia in stirring, currently it is 17/18 units.
And the highway will be open as soon as the ammonia stops leaking.
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