BELGRADE, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Over 50 people have been evacuated and 24 hospitalized due to an ammonia gas leak after a railway accident in southeastern Serbia.

According to a police statement on Sunday evening, a railway tank car from a freight train overturned at around 5:30 p.m. near the city of Pirot, causing "a large concentration of gas" to leak into the atmosphere.

The city of Pirot has declared a state of emergency, while the nearby municipality of Bela Palanka warned people not to use the water supply before it is tested.

Boban Stevanovic, deputy head of the emergency department of the Serbian interior ministry, said that 56 people were evacuated overnight. Meanwhile, 15 people have been hospitalized at the clinical center in the city of Nis, and nine are at the hospital in Pirot. National broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) reported that 51 people have shown symptoms of ammonia poisoning.

Nearby residents were advised to stay indoors overnight on Sunday, while on Monday the Ministry of Environmental Protection said it is monitoring the situation on the ground by measuring levels of pollutants. The public will be informed of the findings and the next steps to "minimize the consequences for the environment."

Serbia's minister of construction, transport and infrastructure, Goran Vesic, visited the site of the accident on Monday morning. He said there was "no need for panic, only for precaution" and appealed to locals to follow instructions.

"Bad infrastructure is the reason for the train derailment," said Vesic, adding that Sunday's accident is not the first on this section of the railway.

The emergency response team in Pirot announced on Monday that testing had proved there is no ammonia in the air in that city, and the Nisava River has not been contaminated. However, since the overturned tank is still leaking, the state of emergency remains in force. Enditem

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