According to this publication, there are 51 patients in the hospital in Pirot and another 15 in the clinical center in Nis, three of whom are children.

All were hospitalized with symptoms of ammonia poisoning, chemical burns of varying severity after a railway accident that resulted in a poisonous gas leak.

According to Serbian health authorities, the condition of the injured is stable and their lives are not in danger. Pirot Mayor Vladan Vasic announced that a state of emergency has been declared in the city due to this incident.

Schools will not open today and citizens should not leave their homes unless it is absolutely necessary, while police, rescue teams and firefighters will do everything possible to eliminate the consequences, he said.

On December 25, at around 17:30 local time, several wagons containing ammonia overturned on the Pirot-Stanychenie section of the railroad near the settlement of Sopotski-Khan, causing the poisonous gas to leak.

Serbian authorities stopped traffic in the Pirot-Bela Palanka sector and recommended drivers to use a beltway.

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