At least five people die after train explodes in Bulgaria

Cargo train carrying propane-butane derails, hits electricity line and then bursts into flames

Smoke rises after a cargo train derailed and exploded in the village of Hitrino, Bulgaria (Reuters)

At least five people have been killed and another 23 injured after a cargo train derailed and exploded in Bulgaria.

The train, carrying propane-butane, derailed at a station in Hitrino, a village in the northeast of the country.

After coming off the tracks, it hit an electricity line causing it to burst into flames.

“The explosion has also caused a fire. We do not expect a second blast, but the people from the village are being evacuated,” Nikolai Nikolov, head of fire safety and civil defence at the police, told Reuters.

Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov added: “Two blasts have caused a serious fire and ruined at least 20 buildings. There are many people injured ... many with burns.”

Police announced they were investigating the incident as 150 firefighters put out the fire and searched for survivors.

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov, was travelling to the village, which is 280km northeast of Sofia and home to approximately 800 people.

Mr Borissov urged people to donate blood to the local hospital where the injured were being transported.