Bulgarian Travel Abroad Surges: Turkey, Greece, and Romania Top Destinations
In March, there was a significant uptick in Bulgarians traveling abroad, marking a 19.1% increase from the previous year, amounting to 679.1 thousand trips
The trial for the tourist boat Ilinden, which sank in the Macedonian Ohrid Lake on September 5, 2009, is to start Tuesday in Ohrid.
15 Bulgarian tourists drowned in the tragic accident.
On October 26 2010, the first hearing was postponed because Branko Baic, the representative of the German company Lloyd, which issued the necessary certificates ensuring the road worthiness of the Ilinden, failed to appear in the courthouse.
Baic issued the necessary certificate ensuring the roadworthiness of Ilinden. The last certificate was issued only four months before the tragedy.
After the accident, the vessel's captain, Filevski was arrested immediately and was held 30 days in custody. At present, he is under house arrest.
At the time of the tragedy, there were 54 Bulgarian tourists and three crew members on board. The tourists were going on a trip to the Monastery of Saint Naum, situated south of the city of Ohrid. About 200-300 meters from the shore, the boat sinks in minutes.
According to the official documents, the vessel had the capacity for 43 people.
The versions about the cause of the sinking of the ship have to do with overloading, a torn balancing rope, incorrect distribution of the people on board, and mistakes by the captain.
The Bulgarian organizer of the ill-fated trip to Ohrid a year ago, Boryana Georgieva, has already been sentenced for carrying out business activities in violation of the Tourism Act. She was sentenced to pay a fine of BGN 4 500, and was banned from commercial activity for 2 years.
The Ilinden vessel was produced in 1924 in Regensburg, Germany, as a military boat later refashioned into a tourist ship. Its last technical check had been carried out by Lloyd in May 2009.
Bulgaria has awarded medals and citizenship to the Macedonians who took part in the rescuing of the drowning tourists, most of whom came from the town of Pirdop.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
The Bulgarian Retail Association (BRA) sounded the alarm over a staggering increase in theft incidents across commercial establishments, marking a concerning trend for retailers nationwide
In a disturbing incident in Elena, Bulgaria, a 23-year-old man has been detained after inflicting multiple stab wounds on his 41-year-old girlfriend's head with a pair of scissors
Bulgarian customs officials intercepted a clandestine smuggling operation involving over 3,000 packs of cigarettes ingeniously concealed within loaves of bread near the Danube Bridge in Vidin
The Varna Court of Appeal has upheld a life sentence for the horrific murder of Silvia S., a woman from the Shumen village of Chernoglavtsi, marking a tragic end to a story of domestic violence that gripped the nation
Bulgarian journalist Dimitar Stoyanov finds himself embroiled in controversy after being detained by authorities for 24 hours on charges of hooliganism and threatening behavior with a weapon
In Bulgaria, a stark reality persists regarding domestic violence, as highlighted by Assoc. Dr. Aleksey Pamporov from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Sofia Airport's Terminal 3 Construction Set to Begin in Early 2026
COVID-19 Impact: Bulgaria's Grim Milestone as Highest Death Rate in EU