A 19-year-old man went missing in the Maritsa river in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv on Wednesday evening.

The man went missing after he had gone for a swim with his girlfriend into the river near the rowing base. 

According to preliminary information, he got carried away by the river and started drowning.

The 17-year-old girl also went into the river, but she managed to get out and is in good general condition after having received first medical aid.

Reportedly, they had ended up in a section of the river which was two meters deep.

Six crews participated in the search operation on Wednesday evening which lasted for three hours.

Divers, members of sports clubs, police officers and firefighters equipped with rescue boats and a drone took part in the search operation. 

They searched several kilometres of the river, from the western to the eastern suburbs of the city, including areas under bridges. The search operation continues on Thursday.

This is the latest in a series of drowning incidents which have occurred in Bulgaria with the abrupt warming of the weather. 

Last week, two boys drowned in the Yantra river in Veliko Tarnovo. There were also several incidents on the Black Sea coast. Two young men drowned in the resort of Sunny Beach and a Russian tourist drowned in the town of Aheloy.

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