Mourners Remember Bulgarian Ohrid Lake Victims

A Macedonian police boat tows the recovered sunken boat 'Ilinden,' into the Ohrid marina on September 19, 2009, two weeks after the tragic boath accident in Ohrid Lake when 15 Bulgarian tourists lost their lives. Photo by BGNES

Relatives of the 15 Bulgarians, who drowned in the Macedonian lake Ohrid and survivors of the incident gathered Sunday to remember those who died.

The mourners lit candles and threw flowers in the lake from the coast of the Eleshets beach.

For the first time, the survivors told each other and to the group their story of escaping the deadly waters. Part of the people who came to their rescue also attended the ceremony. The group traveled to the St. Naum Monastery, the initial destination of the Bulgarian tourists over a year ago, which they were unable to reach because the Macedonian tour boat "Ilinden" sank in the lake on its way to the sacred place.

The mourners will travel back to Bulgaria Sunday evening.

15 Bulgarian citizens found their death on September 5, 2009 in the sinking of the obsolete "Ilinden" ship. A monument in their memory was inaugurated in the center of the Macedonian city of Ohrid Saturday.

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