On Sunday, the iconic Dome building in the city center caught fire

A man has been detained for the huge fire in Blagoevgrad. The balance sheet shows that the damage is in the hundreds of thousands of levs. Restaurants, shops, and a bank branch have been burnt down. And the prosecution is investigating arson.

The detainee is a 43-year-old man, a visitor to a piano bar in the city. According to the data collected so far, he deliberately caused the fire, which destroyed the emblematic building "Dome". The man was detained and will remain in custody for 72 hours, after which the prosecutor's office will request the most severe measure "detention in custody".

The arson was filmed by security cameras at the piano bar from which the fire started. They sealed the moment a man threw incendiary liquid and ran away. Before that, he celebrated in the restaurant with a company of friends.

"A 43-year-old person that they later threw out”, the waitress teased. “Thrown out” is a bit harsh, but he was asked to leave with physical accompaniment. One hour after the restaurant closed, he returned with a bottle of gasoline, put it in the electrical panel, and set it on fire" said Borislav Kovachki of the Blagoevgrad District Prosecutor's Office.

Then the man returned to Dupnitsa by taxi. There, he removed the battery from his phone so that he could not be traced, and immediately afterwards tried to flee the country in the direction of Serbia.

"He was captured before midnight at the Kalotina border checkpoint, 50 meters from Serbian territory, shortly before he left the country, after an 8-hour national search," prosecutor Kovacki explained.

The man lives and works in England. He came to Bulgaria for a short time.

The prosecutor's office has gathered evidence that the man managed to reach Kalotina not without the help of friends.

"Many people in Dupnitsa, his acquaintances, have made efforts to hide him. We should also think in this direction - about criminal proceedings", commented prosecutor Kovachki.

Damage after the fire is still being assessed.

"The biggest problem I think will come from the roof. And there is water inside the premises," said Krassimir Tsutsakov, owner of the piano bar.

"A fire that could have burned the entire center of Blagoevgrad. There could have been human casualties. We will take steps to restore our part. What we can help, we will do," said Blagoevgrad Mayor Ilko Stoyanov.

The destroyed roofs are to be cleared.
/Nova

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!