Three-Day Mourning in Dupnitsa After Struma River Tragedy.
After four people, including two children, died in the Struma River near the village of Pastuh, the municipality of Dupnitsa declared three days of mourning. Volunteer divers risked their lives to recover the children's bodies.
Following the tragic incident near the village of Pastuh, in which two children aged 8 and 11 and their grandparents died in the Struma River, the municipality of Dupnitsa has declared three days of mourning. The tragedy deeply shook the local community, and the search operation lasted more than 24 hours.
Teams from the fire service, police and volunteers took part in the rescue operation. A call for volunteers to join the search was made as early as Friday evening.
Two volunteer divers from Kyustendil and a firefighter from the local service, risking their own lives, managed to find the bodies of the two missing children.
According to initial information, one of the children entered the water to swim but began to drown. In an attempt to save the child, other members of the family rushed to help, but the strong current swept them away and the tragedy claimed the lives of four people.
Diver Lyuboslav Kovachki said he was not on the boat, but in the water, holding it steady in order to maintain control, because the machine underneath was drawing in water for the engine, and if the boat overturned, nothing could be done.
Stoyan Stoyanov explained that the river holds many dangers — depths, whirlpools, fast currents, sediment, underwater rocks, vegetation and fallen trees. He urged everyone to be extremely careful, saying the tragedy was enormous. Stoyanov added that late in the evening he wanted to secure himself so he could be pulled out if anything happened.
Tags: Bulgaria