Emergency situation has happened in the Lvov oblast: 11 cars with yellow phosphorus – poisonous substance – overturned not far from Ozhidov in the Bugskiy district. 11,000 local residents turned out to be in the damage area, informed deputy chief of press-centre in the Chief Department of Emergency Ministry in the Lvov oblast Vitali Turovtsev.

On Monday at 04:55 p.m. 15 tank-cars with yellow phosphorus of goods train number 2005 overturned in the Bugskiy district in the Lvov oblast at the Krasnoe-Ozhidiv stage (there were in all 58 cars). The tank-cars were going from Asa station (Djambul, Kazakhstan) for Oklesa station (Republic of Poland). 6 tank-cars ignited spontaneously because phosphorus was flowing out of one tank-car.

As a result, 50 meters of permanent way, about 100 meters of contact system and three bearings were damaged. The cloud of products of combustion appeared during fire extinguishing (the damage area is about 90 square meters). 14 settlements in the Bugskiy district with population 11,000 people were in the damage area. Also some territories in the Radekhivskiy and Brodivskiy districts in this oblast suffered from it.

Seven people of those who were taken to the hospital are officials from the Emergency Ministry, two of them are the State traffic inspectorate officials, four people are local residents. Nobody died but currently the residents of the Bugskiy district have begun to go to the hospitals because of sickness and headache. About 800 residents are removed from 6 settlements in the Bugskiy district.

450 people of personnel and 80 units of machinery have been involved into the liquidation of emergency situation, including: 125 people and 30 units of machinery from the Emergency Ministry, 30 people and 7 units of machinery (fire trains) from the Transport Ministry, 220 people and 30 units of machinery from the Interior Ministry, 25 people and 9 units of machinery from the Health Ministry.

Vice-Prime-Minister of Ukraine Alexander Kuzmuk and op-group of the Emergency Ministry at the head of the first deputy Minister Vladimir Antonetz have been working on the scene of action. According to Turovtsev, the reasons of accident still are not known, railwaymen have been making examinations.

The fatal doze of yellow phosphorus comes to 1/10 of 1 gram. It damages bones, marrow, can lead to jaw necrosis. Phosphorus is being applied in the chemical fertilizers production and also for so-called phosphorus bombs.

Yushchenko Enacted Decree on Liquidation of Catastrophe’s Consequences

The Head of state Viktor Yushchenko enacted a decree on urgent measures to liquidate consequences of accident in the Lvov oblast. Particularly, the President obliged the Cabinet of Ministers to provide liquidation of accident’s circumstances during the 10 days.

According to the Decree, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Interior Ministry of Ukraine with the participation of the General prosecutor office of Ukraine should checkup the circumstances which leaded to the accident and then according to the results to take the corresponding measures. The text of decree of July, 17 2007 is published on the official site of the Head of state.

Prosecutor office in the Lvov district has initiatet a criminal case on fact 15 tank-cars with yellow phosphorus of goods train ran off the rails “Zdolbunov – Klepariv”. As press-service of the General prosecutor office of Ukraine informed, the case has been initiated according to the crime provided for the second part of 276^th article in the Criminal code of Ukraine (violation of safety rules and railway transport exploitation).

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