The police officer whose actions resulted in the death of an Afghan man crossing into Bulgaria from Turkey has not been taken into custody, a prosecution official has said.

Authorities suggest that, according to initial reports, border police officers fired late on Thursday warning shots after spotting a group of 54 people, purportedly Afghans, who had entered the country illegally.  

A post-mortem of the victim is due in Burgas, the biggest city in the area where the incident took place.

Kalina Chapkanova, District Prosecutor for the city of Burgas, said no 24-hour detention had been imposed on the perpetrator.

She added at a press conference pretrial proceedings had been launched into the incident.

Chapkanova also explained that the gun seized by police in relation to the development contained 7 out of 8 bullets, which suggested only one shot had been fired.

The earliest version of events, put forward by police, says that a bullet ricocheted after being fired in the air, hitting the victim, reportedly a 25-year-old man, in the back of the neck.

He later died from his wounds.

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