Bulgaria President Declares Need for Emergency Task Force

Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov, talks to survivors of the ship accident at the Ohrid airport Saturday evening. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov, said the Ohrid Lake tragedy, in which 15 Bulgarians drowned, is a stark example of the need to have a special unit to deal with similar situations.

Parvanov was in the city of Plovdiv to attend the memorial service for the people, who died Saturday when the ship "Ininden" sunk in the waters of the lake and to lay flowers at the "Unification Monument" in honor of the 124th anniversary of the unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia.

Unlike other years, all other "Unification" events have been canceled over the tragedy. Monday, September 7, had been declared a National Day of Mourning.

The President explained that a need for a task force to coordinate all activities, in case similar situations arose, was imposed even more by the fact that Bulgaria no longer has a Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Parvanov gave high marks to the cabinet's swift reaction, but added that good instinct is never sufficient in such cases.

 

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