Emergency situation in Pirot, more than 50 injured; Vesic: Situation under control...

Emergency situation in Pirot, more than 50 injured; Vesic: Situation under control...

Ammonia vaporization occurred, which also caused a smoke screen on the highway.

A large number of vehicles from all emergency services with special equipment and protection were dispatched, and the Niš-Dimitrovgrad highway near Pirot was closed to traffic.

Due to the slippage, there was a gas leak and a high concentration of gas in the atmosphere, so the authorities are appealing to citizens living nearby not to leave their homes and not to go outside.

Due to the smoke screen formed by the ammonia fumes, several vehicles went off the highway. Six patients were admitted to the Niš University Clinical Center due to the consequences of ammonia poisoning due to a leak from a tanker that came off the railway between Pirot and Bela Palanka.

"Four are in the resuscitation department and two are in the toxicology department. All of them have stable vital parameters with irritant symptoms and mild chemical burns. They are all our citizens," the Niš hospital announced.

A total of 51 people reported to the hospital in Pirot last night, reports Blic. Of these, 7 of them were injured in accidents caused by ammonia leaks, i.e. landing off the road, and one of them was seriously intoxicated and transferred to KC Niš.

The rest came in because of symptoms of poisoning, "Blic" learns, and two have more severe symptoms. Due to the symptoms of poisoning, 51 people were hospitalized, and one died after being admitted to the Pirot hospital, but it was not confirmed that the cause of death was poisoning.

Pirot emergency headquarters advises citizens to avoid drinking water from springs and public taps, while the Bela Palanka municipality emergency headquarters ordered not to use tap water for drinking and cooking.

"The headquarters for emergency situations of the municipality of Bela Palanka issued an order that the water from the city's water supply system should not be used for drinking and food preparation as a preventive measure until the official results of the water testing by the Public Health Institute of Pirot, which are expected today in the morning. They informed owners of agricultural holdings not to use water from the Nišava River for irrigating agricultural crops until further notice," the Municipality announced.

The city administration announced that the water supply of Niš, a city located further downstream on the Nišava river, is not threatened after the wagon derailed near Pirot and ammonia leaked into Nišava.

"The supply of Nis is regular, because there is enough water in the springs and reservoirs. For preventive reasons, the water factory in Nis and the water supply from the source of Mediana have been disconnected from the network," the city announced, Juzne Vesti reports.

The situation is under control, but...

The Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, said today that in Pirot, after the wagon overturned and ammonia leaked, measurements were made at five city locations and that the presence of this compound in the air was not determined.

In an interview with TV Prva, Vesić said that the situation is under control, but that it has not been completely remedied.

"Until the situation is completely remedied, the citizens of Pirot should follow the instructions of the headquarters for emergency situations and act in accordance with those instructions," he said.