Bulb explosion sparks Bulgarian train fire
February 29th, 2008 - 11:57 pm ICT by adminXinhua
Sofia, Feb 29 (Xinhua) The explosion of a fluorescent light bulb has been blamed for the fire that swept through an overnight train’s sleeping compartment in Bulgaria, killing eight people and injuring nine others, local media reported Friday. “A fluorescent bulb blew up and set the bed sheets in the sleeping car on fire,” 65-year-old Zhechka Krasteva, one of the survivors, said as she and 10 other passengers arrived in the town of Silistra after a 17-hour-long hellish trip from Sofia.
The fire erupted on two compartments of the nine-car train around 11:40 p.m. Thursday near the central town of Cherven Briag, according to the national broadcaster BTV.
Around 50 passengers were on board the train, which was travelling from Sofia to the northeastern town of Kardam, but most of them were evacuated before the fire could spread, authorities said.
However, rail officials said, some passengers got trapped in the burning carriages.
According to doctors, the condition of the injured is stable and they are out of danger.
Investigation has been launched into the cause of the accident.
Xinhua
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Tags: authorities, bed sheets, btv, car on fire, car train, carriages, explosion, feb 29, fluorescent light bulb, local media, national broadcaster, northeastern town, one of the survivors, overnight train, rail officials, silistra, sleeping car, sofia, train fire, xinhua