By Xinhua
Kiev : A total of 179 people have been hospitalized following the derailment of a train carrying yellow phosphorus in western Ukraine, which ignited tankers loaded with the chemical, the Emergency Situations Ministry said on Saturday.
The sickened, including 48 children and 14 rescue workers, were being treated in 12 hospitals in the Lviv region and none of them is in a critical condition, a spokesman for the ministry said.
The rescue operation is still going on with more than 400 rescuers working at the site, including Interior Ministry forces, troops and medical staff, the spokesman added.
The accident occurred on Monday when the train derailed outside Lviv.Six tankers caught fire and a toxic cloud spread across the region affecting 14 surrounding villages.
Firefighters have moved six tankers away from the site and have been spaying fire-suppressing foam on the damaged tankers to prevent fresh blazes.