site.btaUPDATED Deputy Transport Minister: Derailed Cargo Train in Serbia Was Loaded in Bulgaria

The cargo train carrying ammonia that derailed in eastern Serbia was loaded in Bulgaria, Deputy Transport Minister Krasimir Papukchiyski said Monday.

Consul General of Bulgaria in Nis Dimitar Tsanev said that no Bulgarians were injured in the accident. 

The cargo was transferred from the Bulgarian infrastructure to the Serbian infrastructure, at the time of the derailment the train was operated by the Serbian railways.  The only person who will be involved in the investigation is the owner of the tanks, Papukchiyski said. 

All 20 wagons are French and German, and were transported by a Bulgarian private operator in the direction of Belgrade, the deputy minister said. 

He advised Bulgarian citizens to limit their travel to Serbia. 

A mobile team of the Bulgarian Environment Agency will monitor the air quality in the area of the village of. Kalotina, near the Bulgarian-Serbian border. 

Bulgarian environmental control authorities are in communication with their Serbian counterparts. 

The information from the Serbian environmental authority is that no exceedances of the air quality standards have been reported. The Serbian side will inform the Bulgarian authorities if a change in the situation is reported. 

A cargo train carrying ammonia derailed near Pirot, eastern Serbia, late on Sunday evening, sickening dozens of people and closing a main international highway in the region. A state of emergency was declared in the town of Pirot, with authorities telling residents not to leave their homes. Dozens of people were hospitalized, Serbian state media reported. Because of limited visibility reportedly caused by the leak, several cars crashed on the main highway that leads to Bulgaria at a time of busy traffic because of the Christmas holidays. Police closed the highway and redirected traffic to local roads.