Bulgarian freight train explodes, several killed

At least five people have been killed and 29 injured as a freight train carrying liquid petroleum gas detailed and exploded in north-east Bulgaria, destroying about 50 houses and public buildings.

At least three people were in critical condition in hospital after the incident on Saturday morning, health authorities said.

“There will be more casualties for sure,” the country’s prime minister, Boiko Borisov, said after arriving in Hitrino, a village of about 1,000 people, where the crash occurred.

Several people suffered burns to more than 90% of their bodies, he added, and appealed to people in the region to donate blood to the local hospital's supply.

Twelve of the private train’s tanks, carrying propylene – a highly volatile and flammable gas – derailed at the village’s rail station. One tank struck a high-power line and exploded, police said.

The blast flattened dozens of houses and public buildings, leaving people under the ruins. Officials ordered a full evacuation of the village.

The interior ministry chief secretary, Georgi Kostov, said many of those hurt had burns injuries. An 18-year-old man had died of his wounds in hospital in nearby Shumen.

Two hundred fire crews were battling the flames and cooling the derailed tanks to avoid further blasts, while rescue teams searched for survivors in houses near the train lines.

Stefan Stefanov, a Hitrino resident, said: “I helped take out six people under the ruins. Three were dead, three alive. There are no houses left standing near the incident – within 300 metres of the railway.”

Prosecutors are investigating the incident. The head of the parliamentary commission, Nastimir Ananiev, said possible speeding or malfunctioning of the train tanks were among the most likely causes.

Bulgaria’s government is preparing to announce a day of national mourning.

Hitrino, a town of around 800 people, is located in Bulgaria's north-eastern Shumen province, about 60 miles (100km) from the Black Sea.