The tragic accident, causing the death of 16 Bulgarians, involved a 30-year-old Bulgarian-made "Chavdar-Setra" 11M4 bus, the Transportation Ministry informs.

According to the Traffic Police records, the bus, registered in 1979, underwent a technical inspection on May 2 in the town of Elhovo and was given the green light to carry passengers. The Elhovo "Velikov-Savov & Co" company conducted the checkup while the vehicle, reportedly, belongs to a single owner of a small business, identified as Slav Slavov.

The bus is registered to the NCI transport company, which has a license to transport passengers inside the country. The company owns only 3 buses, traveling twice a day between Yambol and the town of Straldzha.

The manager of the "Velikov-Savov & Co" told Darik radio that the bus has been in good condition, but the Chief Commissar of the Interior Ministry, Pavlin Dimitrov, in the same broadcast voiced his doubts that the bus was in good shape, adding the fact that a Yambol bus was checked in Elhovo was suspicious.

Faulty breaks are most likely to blame for the tragedy.

The Executive Director of the "Automobile Administration", Volodya Kirov, has ordered an investigation of the "Velikov-Savov & Co".

The bus driver is a 60-year-old from the city of Yambol. He underwent an alcohol blood test after causing the accident. The results are going to be ready later.

Initial reports informed the bus was empty, but it became clear later that 19 people were on board at the time of the accident, all from a home for the elderly in Yambol.

A Yambol policeman is among the injured. He has been taken to the hospital after attempting to save two women. His condition is currently unknown.

The 16-year-old, who perished in the accident, was scheduled to perform at the Spasovden Fair near the Bakadzhik peak, where the tragedy occurred.

A total of 16 people died during the crash.

15 are in the hospital, 4 of them in critical condition, according to the latest update, however, the Health Minister, Evgeni Zhelev, told Darik from the Yambol hospital that there were 10 people there, 3 of them critical.

Darik radio informs that two of the deceased were passengers, the rest were among the crowd gathered for the Fair.

Eyewitnesses say the Yambol City Hall and the Police are at fault because, traditionally, the area of the Fair has been closed for large vehicles, including trucks and buses. It is still unclear why the bus entered the narrow road around the fair stands.

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