Train derailment in Bulgaria kills 1, injures 14

USPA News - A high-speed passenger train derailed in south-central Bulgaria on Saturday afternoon, killing the train driver and injuring more than a dozen passengers, the interior ministry said. The cause of the derailment was not immediately known.

The accident happened at about 3:16 p.m. local time on Saturday near a train station in the small town of Kaloyanovets, about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) southwest of the city of Stara Zagora. The high-speed train was traveling from the capital Sofia to the Black Sea resort Varna with about 160 people on board. Bulgarian State Railways officials said the accident happened just before the train was scheduled to stop in Stara Zagora, causing the engine and four train carriages to derail. "Emergency teams immediately responded to the scene and the injured passengers and train staff were transported to the nearest hospital," a spokesperson said. The interior ministry said the train driver was killed in the derailment while 14 passengers were injured, though none of them seriously. "Six people were transported to the hospital in Stara Zagora but their conditions are not life-threatening," said interior minister Tsvetlin Yovchev, speaking from the scene of the accident. Passengers who were unhurt were taken by bus to Stara Zagora, where they were able to resume their journey to Varna. It was not immediately known what caused Saturday`s accident, but Yovchev praised emergency services for carrying out the rescue and evacuation of injured passengers in an orderly fashion. Interior Ministry Chief Commissioner Svetozar Lazarov, who was also at the scene, said he had ordered a full investigation into the cause of the derailment. In February 2008, nine people were killed and nine more were injured when a fire swept through a train in northeastern Bulgaria.