Killer Boat to Be Extracted from Macedonia Lake

The boat "Ilinden“ that sank is seen at the bottom of Ohrid Lake in Macedonia, 05 September 2009. Fifteen Bulgarians died when the tour boat capsized in Ohrid Lake. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The tourist boat Ilinden, which sunk on Lake Ohrid in Macedonia on September 5 leading to the death of 15 Bulgarian tourists, is expected to be extracted from the Lake on Saturday.

The Macedonian Transport Ministry will have to pay EUR 30 000 to a Croatian specialist team for the extraction operation according to unofficial information published by Macedonian daily newspaper "Utrinski Vesnik".

The investigator from Bulgaria's National Investigative Services, Georgi Iliev, who is in Macedonia, working on the case reported last week that the boat is 27 meters from the shore, 6 meters below water level. According to Iliev it could be taken out in 10 minutes, but the procedure itself was very complex, requiring lots of preparations.

Meanwhile local media reports suggest that the Ilinden boat had passed an inspection with flying colors on May 23 and that the number of people on board had not been a reason for the tragic accident.

The recovery of the Ilinden ship is expected to provide evidence on the cause of the tragedy which happened as Bulgarian tourists were enjoying their vacation on the Ohrid Lake.

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