All companies in the group of Alma Tour, the Bulgarian operator recently involved in a scandal with hundreds of stranded foreign tourists, have filed for bankruptcy, according to reports.

The reports came out Tuesday by the Bulgarian National Radio, quoting Sofia Presse, who base their information on an unnamed internal source.

Alma Tour have this far neither confirmed nor denied the information.

According to reports, the biggest creditor of Alma Tour is the Bulgarian Commercial Corporate Bank, with which the company has pledged its assets for EUR 13 M.

The stranded tourists scandal broke out after 10 days ago the Bulgaria Air carrier cancelled a number of flights booked by the tour agent on the basis of what it claims to be an EUR 3.6 M debt.

This left more than 700 Russians and several hundred nationals from Finland and the Baltic states without transportation home and waiting for days for their flights to be somehow rescheduled.

In separate reports, the central office of Alma Tour in Sofia said to be closed down on Tuesday, as company units are not accepting reservations over "financial hardship."