Four people were killed and another 12 were injured under the ruins of at least 20 buildings smashed after a cargo train carrying propane-butane derailed and exploded in the northeastern Bulgarian village of Hitrino, police said on Saturday.
“The explosion has also caused a fire. We do not expect a second blast, but the people from the village are being evacuated,” said Nikolai Nikolov, head of fire safety and civil defence at the police.
Some 150 firemen are putting out the fire and searching for survivors. Police said they are investigating the incident.
“At least four people died and over 20 were injured,” local fire department chief Nikolai Nikolov said, as cited by Bulgarian BTV.
“The explosion has also caused a fire. We do not expect a second blast, but the people from the village are being evacuated,” Nikolov added, as cited by Reuters.
Twelve people were removed from under the rubble, with medics and firefighters still working at the scene.
The head of the local hospital, Atanas Atanasov, said that 23 people with injuries and burns were sent to them, as cited by TASS news agency.
