Bulgarian cruise ship technician Petar Petrov, who saved hundreds of people aboard Costa Concordia cruise liner, will be awarded Monday the European Citizen of the European Parliament Prize.

Petrov will receive the award by Bulgaria's EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, who will be the official guest of the event, held in the building of the Parliament in downtown Sofia.

The EP prize is awarded annually as an honorary medal.

All 37 holders of the award will meet on November 7-8 in Brussels and will be accepted by the President of the EP, Martin Schultz.

Petrov was a member of the crew of the Costa Concordia cruise liner, which capsized off the coast of Tuscany in Italy. He saved the lives of over 500 people.

In January 2012, the luxury Costa Concordia ship ran aground in shallows some 300 meters away from the Tuscany Giglio Island. This led to a capsizing of the large vessel, after a 70 meter hole formed in the body of the ship, filling it with water.

3 200 passengers and 1 023 crew members were on board at the time of the incident.

Risking his own life, the Bulgarian technician did six runs with a lifeboat which holds 150 people. He was one of the last three crew members that did not leave the ship until the coastguard officials told them they took control over the operation.

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