Sun, Nov 08 2009
Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev ordered the Bulgarian state railways BDZ to ban smoking in all trains and to strengthen the control over the passengers' luggage, two measures that he said would prevent the repeat of the deadly train fire that left nine people dead last week.
Although there is a standing ban on easily flammable substances in trains, no one is enforcing it, while luggage is rarely being searched, Moutafchiev said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.
The devastating fire on the Sofia-Kardam train on February 28 was likely caused by some substance catching fire, according to witness accounts, he added.
BDZ is also now discussing a proposal to install cameras on train stations and on railway platforms, while Moutafchief wants BDZ management to develop system for registration and control of the passengers in sleeping carriages, since the identification of bodies after the fire was made more difficult by the absence of proper records.
Better communication between staff was also needed, since the initial investigation results showed that train chief, carriage attendants and other BDZ employees on the train could not reach each other in time to prevent the fire from spreading, Moutafchiev said.
Kindergartens to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and universities to decide for themselves whether to suspend classes.
Five illegal immigrants from Iran and Iraq caught by Bulgarian police in Sliven.
Leonid Lavchev sent an intermediary to collect 1000 leva from a dairy farm in Haskovo, investigators say
Former labour minister Emilia Maslarova follows the example of Socialist party leader and former prime minister, Sergei Stanishev, in requesting that her MP immunity is lifted
Health Minister: Influenza strain is not seasonal flu, it is swine flu. More than 100 000 Bulgarians are down with the H1N1 strain.