A state of emergency has been declared in several districts of the city of Pirot, which is located in southeastern Serbia, due to a derailed freight train with ammonia. According to Deutsche Welle, citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country, after the leak, ammonia was released into the atmosphere in large quantities..

The mayor of Pirot, Vladan Vasic, said that 51 people showed signs of gas poisoning, seven of them had to be hospitalized.. Residents of the city, whose population is about 60 thousand people, are urged not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary..

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According to the national freight railway company Srbija Kargo, the derailed train consisted of 20 tanks carrying dangerous goods from Bulgaria.. For safety reasons, a zone has been surrounded within a radius of four kilometers from the place where the accident occurred..

Recall that, according to the UN coordinator for humanitarian assistance Martin Griffiths, the food shortage in the world may worsen if the export of fertilizers, including ammonia, from Russia does not resume.