4 Sacked over Head-on Train Collision in Bulgaria

The probe of the head-on collision between and international train and a small train of the Bulgarian railroad company, BDZ, at the Dragoil station is continuing. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian Transport Minister, Aleksander Tsvetkov, issued an order Tuesday to dismiss the Executive Director of the Railroad Administration Agency, Simeon Ananiev.

The order says Ananiev is discharged over failures in his work related to the Code of Action of the Agency for the control and coordination of railroad transportation.

The order comes on the heels of the Monday train crash between two trains at the Dragoil station, near the Bulgarian town of Dragoman.

Three other individuals have been fired over the crash, which injured 25 people, the Transport Ministry press center further informs.

Two have been the employees on duty at the Dragoman railroad station and the third is the one that was on duty at Dragoil, because they are directly responsible for the accident, according to Tsvetkov.

On Monday, the Minister said the head-on collision between the international train from Belgrade to Sofia and the small company train of the Bulgarian State Railroad Agency, BDZ, carrying employees of the company, has been the result of human error.

The probe is ongoing and other dismissals are possible.

Meanwhile, it was announced that 6 of the injured remain at the emergency hospital Pirogov in Sofia, two of them are Serbian citizens.