Rescuers of Ill-Fated Macedonian Boat Become Bulgarian Citizens

On September 5, the Macedonian tour boat “Ilinden” sunk into the waters of Lake Ohrid killing 15 Bulgarian tourists on board. Photo by BGNES

The 3 Macedonians, who took part in the rescue operation of Bulgarian tourists during the sinking of the tour boat “Ilinden” in the Ohrid Lake received Bulgarian citizenship.

The information was reported Friday by the Bulgarian Minister for Bulgarians Abroad, Bozhidar Dimitrov, who is the moving force behind the initiative. The decision has been made during the meeting of the Bulgarian Citizenship Council.

The 3 are: Zoran Gilevski, Georgi Kostovski, and Zoran Zamfirovski. All have applied for Bulgarian passports 1 to 2 years ago. The wait through the regular procedure is usually 4 to 5 years.

At the beginning of March, the Macedonian authorities closed the investigation into the sinking of the Macedonian tourist boat ‘Ilinden’, in which 15 Bulgarian tourists drowned in Lake Ohrid in September 2009, but the outcome remains unknown.

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