TIR Truck Blast at Petrol Station

A 'Mercedez' truck with a trailer exploded in a fire at around 6.30 a.m., yesterday, eye-witnesses reported. Sources from the fire station in Blagoevgrad specified that the fire had most likely started from an out-of-order wiring following a short circuit. 45-year-old Tazis Kostadinos from the village of Livadi, Katherini municipality, spent the night in his truck on the parking lot near the 'Karelia' petrol station at motorway E-79. The petrol station is owned by Roumen and Valentin Georgievs from the village of Stroumyani. In the morning the Greek started the engine and he himself made for the supermarket near the petrol station to have a coffee. Then an explosion was heard and the truck was engulfed in flames. It is believed that the fire initially started from an acid leakage from the battery, then it spread to the fuel tank and then came the explosion. The punctured tank reportedly leaked diesel fuel and in several minutes only the first petrol pump of the 'Karelia' station was enveloped in flames. The on-duty shift stopped the fuel supply to the pumps and took to extinguishing the fire. 15 minutes after the announcement two fire-fighting lorries from Sandanski arrived on the spot, said Valentin Chelikov, mayor of Stroumyani. 'I went there immediately after the explosion. At that early hour everything is heard and I did not need even the call of the on-duty person in the municipality. 25 meter high flames were rising above the motorway. The timely interference of the fire-fighters saved the petrol station and the people of Stroumyani', the mayor said. Policemen immediately cordoned off the area and the traffic was stopped for 30 minutes. By 9.00 a.m. motor vehicles were let only through one of the road ways. The TIR truck and the 13 tons of sisal in it have completely burned. Inspectors and policemen from Sandanski continue work on the case. The reasons for the fire haven't been fully clarified as yet, sources from the fire station in Blagoevgrad added.
Pavlina Zhivkova
Vladimir Simeonov
sir@standartnews.com

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