Prosecutors have demanded that the trial of the driver in the tragic bus accident in the river Lim three years ago be referred back to the appellate court.

Bulgaria's Supreme Cassation Court convened on Friday to hear the case of the 52-year-old Iliya Izmirliev, who drove the bus when 12 Bulgarian children drowned three years ago.

Prosecutors claim that Izmirliev misjudged the speed he was driving at and demand that the sentence of four years in jail is too mild for such a heavy crime.

The District Court in Veliko Tarnovo sentenced Izmirliev to seven years behind bars on March 9 2006, but the Court of Appeals reduced the sentence to four years eight months later.

The parents of the 12 killed children have appealed the sentence, as they consider it absolutely insufficient and doubt the just ruling of the judges.

Bus company Pamporovo, which had organised the student excursion, was sentenced to pay BGN 1.2 M to victims' families, and that amount hasn't been changed.

Technical reports on what caused the tragic crash are still dubious and leave many questions unanswered. Both the prosecution and the defence still haven't been able to prove whether the reason for the crash was a technical failure of the bus or the driver's negligence.

The Supreme Cassation Court will come up with a ruling within one month.

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