Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (novinite.com)
Maria Zhekova happened to return from Varna to Sofia on the train that collided early on Monday in Central Bulgaria. In the crash, she got a bruise on the left arm but insists to have surmounted the shock. Zhekova reached her office in Sofia after she managed to get on the first bus that took passengers from the crash scene to the capital.
The eyetness spoke to Milena Dinkova from novinite.com.
Q: You travelled on the intercity train from Varna. Why did the train stop before the crash?
A: I don't know really because I was asleep. It had stopped between Sopot and Karlovo next to some settlement - I am not sure what. I guess the train might have waited for another train to blow over - there was a junction there.
Q: What happened then?
A: The compartment was shattered by a sudden shock. It felt really tough. Afterwards, when I went outside I saw the other train. It had hit frontally the back flat wagon that carried cars. They said it was a passenger's train with people onboard. I saw an engine and three carriages- perhaps there were people there.
Q: What happened to you and the people in your compartment?
A: I was only a carriage or two away from the point of impact. People around me got panicked. I did not fell down when it happened but others in my compartment did. Most of the people got bruises and scratches like me. There was an elderly woman in the next-door compartment who had her arm badly injured and did not want to move.
Q: Did you leave the train after the impact?
A: Not immediately. They asked us who were in the back carriages to move forward. At first, they thought that it wasn't that bad and the train would proceed to Sofia. We hoped that for an hour. Then they said we should leave the train to get on buses. I found a seat in a bus that carried us to another one meant to take us to Sofia. Some people walked in strings to get to the Sofia-bound buses but they mustn't have walked for more than ten minutes.
Q: Was there some medical staff to take care of you?
A: At first, there was a woman who came to look at our injuries but I think she was a doctor that happened to be on the train. She helped the old woman in the next compartment. Then a fire fighter came and bandaged her arm. He also had a look on the other injuries.
Q: I can't tell the exact number of rescue workers but I saw an ambulance. There popped up a TV camera and later on I saw the reportage on television.
A: All passengers worked their mobile phones like crazy. Most of them worried they will be late for work and, of course, they talked of what could have happened had the other train collided hit a carriage with people onboard. We actually proved to be lucky.
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