Bulgaria’s foreign minister awarded Macedonians, who took part in the rescue operation of Bulgarian tourists during the sinking of the tour boat “Ilinden” in the Ohrid Lake in September last year.

“What matters to us is the fact that we managed to save lives,” the grateful Macedonian citizens told Minister Nikolay Mladenov, who is on an official visit to Skopje.

At the beginning of April the three Macedonians, who took part in the rescue operation, were granted Bulgarian citizenship thanks to an initiative by the Bulgarian Minister for Bulgarians Abroad, Bozhidar Dimitrov.

These are Zoran Gilevski, Georgi Kostovski, and Zoran Zamfirovski. All have applied for Bulgarian passports 1 to 2 years ago. The wait through the regular procedure is usually 4 to 5 years.

Fifteen Bulgarians died on September 5, 2009 when an ageing tourist boat sank within seconds into Macedonia's Lake Ohrid, a popular attraction in the Balkans.

The Iliden was 200 metres from shore when it apparently capsized into the deepest lake in the region -- famous for its turquoise waters -- at around 11:00 am (0900 GMT) near a campground outside Ohrid city.

The tourists were on their way to the St Naum monastery complex.

At the beginning of March, the Macedonian authorities closed the investigation into the sinking of the tourist boat, but the outcome remains unknown.

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