The ground floor of the Regional Court in the southern Bulgarian town of Harmanli has been flooded, according to an announcement of Lazar Gruev, Chair of the Supreme Court of Cassation (VKS).

Gruev explained on Thursday that the water had stopped rising some 20 centimeters before reaching the second floor.

"The damage caused by the accident is quite serious and the biggest problem is that case records have been soaked. Everything has been taken out to dry at a site provided by the municipality. The heating system in the building is not working and a most urgent intervention on the part of the Justice Ministry is essential. We shall discuss the matter with Justice Minister Kovacheva today ," Gruev said, as cited by Sega daily.

He went on to explain that justice administration in the town had resumed on Monday after a few days of disruption.

The building's heating system, however, was still non-functional and the staff had to make do with materials on hand, the VKS Chair added.

"The most urgent issue is to get the insurer to evaluate the damages as soon as possible. No procedure can be launched before that. Once this is over, the cleaning-up, the drying and the construction works may start. The water has now subsided and all that remains is mud and dirt. Let us pray to God that the archive has not been destroyed. This will become clear after the materials dry up. Otherwise, complex procedures for its restoration must start," Gruev declared.

He invited the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) and the Justice Ministry to come to the rescue and skip the part of playing hot potato.

The VKS Chair assured that sufficient control was in place to prevent court documents from disappearing.