Ohrid Trial in Bulgarian Tourists Drowning Enters Crucial Stage

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

The trial for the tourist boat Ilinden, which sank in the Macedonian Ohrid Lake on September 5, 2009, is to finally enter its "real phase."

The Ohrid Court now has obtained official rights to try in absence Branko Baic, the representative of the German company Lloyd, which issued the necessary certificate ensuring Ilinden can be used to transport tourists, the Bulgarian news agency BTA informs.

Baic, who issued the certificate only four months before the tragedy, failed to appear twice for the court sessions.

After the accident, the vessel's captain, Sotir Filevski was arrested immediately and was held 30 days in custody. At present, he is under house arrest.

Baic and Filevski are charged with the sinking of the tour boat. 15 Bulgarian tourists drowned in the tragic accident.

The Court convenes again on Monday, and it is expected the Lloyd representative will, once again, be a no-show.

Bulgarian lawyers are discussing if they should file the civil claims for the families of the victims with this trial or have a separate civil case. They will also ask for a revision of the expert report in the cause of the sinking with the inclusion of ship navigation engineers to determine the stability of Ilinden.

On Monday, the Prosecutor will read the charges and the defendants are to take the stand. Witnesses will be interrogated at a later session.

Bulgaria is conducting a parallel probe and is still awaiting the medical experts report.

At the time of the tragedy, there were 54 Bulgarian tourists and three crew members on board. The tourists were going on a trip to the Monastery of Saint Naum, situated south of the city of Ohrid. About 200-300 meters from the shore, the boat sank in minutes.

According to the official documents, the vessel had the capacity for 43 people.

The versions about the cause of the sinking of the ship have to do with overloading, a torn balancing rope, incorrect distribution of the people on board, and mistakes by the captain.

The Bulgarian organizer of the ill-fated trip to Ohrid a year ago, Boryana Georgieva, has already been sentenced for carrying out business activities in violation of the Tourism Act. She was sentenced to pay a fine of BGN 4 500, and was banned from commercial activity for 2 years.

The Ilinden vessel was produced in 1924 in Regensburg, Germany, as a military boat later refashioned into a tourist ship. Its last technical check had been carried out by Lloyd in May 2009.

Bulgaria has awarded medals and citizenship to the Macedonians who took part in the rescuing of the drowning tourists, most of whom came from the Bulgarian town of Pirdop.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!