site.btaNo Risk of Ammonia Leakage Near Pirot - Serbian Transport Minister Vesic 

The operation to transfer to a safe place about 20 tonnes of ammonia from the rail tank car (RTC) that derailed near Pirot concluded on Tuesday morning, which means that there is no more ammonia leak at the site of the railway accident, Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic was quoted by Tanjug as saying.

Earlier, the RTC from which ammonia was leaking was lifted by cranes and returned to the track. 

Vesic stressed that the operation of lifting and returning the RTC to the rail track was a high-risk one, adding that it was led by representatives of the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, the Emergency Department of the Ministry of Interior and the emergency taskforce in Pirot.

The Minister stressed that the teams carrying out the control and monitoring of soil, water and air quality would remain in place until the emergency taskforce decides otherwise.

Serbian railway infrastructure teams are continuing the repairs so that three more ammonia RTCs, which turned over but did not spill ammonia, can get back on the tracks.

Minister Vesic said that all the RTCs that remained on the track after the accident have now been removed and the lifting of the remaining turned over RTCs will be carried out by a relief train and cranes from Bulgaria.

"A few days ago I asked for help my Bulgarian colleague Hristo Aleksiev, Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic policy, and the Minister of Transport and Communications. Our Bulgarian friends immediately sent a support train and an automatic crane with staff to Serbia. The Serbian and Bulgarian workers worked for several days - night and day - to first remove the RTCs that had not derailed, and then lift and empty those that had come off the rails. I would like to thank them for their enormous hard work and energy. Especially to the Bulgarian railwaymen who, together with their Serbian brothers and sisters, worked and risked their lives as if it were their country," Vesic said.

The Minister explained that because of the risk involved in carrying out this operation, it was not possible to communicate every detail and all actions.

"I am sorry about that, but it was necessary so that the workers could do their job in peace," Vesic said.

According to information from the Railway Infrastructure of Serbia, if work continues at the current pace, the Nis-Dimitrovgrad railway line should be operational again by January 13 at the latest.

"I expect that as soon as possible I will receive a report from the investigation committee that I formed, as well as a report from the prosecutor's office, in order to clarify the circumstances under which the incident occurred," Minister Vesic said in conclusion.