2 Bulgarians Take Witness Stand in Ohrid Drowning Case

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

Two Bulgarians are going to take the witness stand in the trial for the tourist boat Ilinden, which sank in the Macedonian Ohrid Lake on September 5, 2009.

15 Bulgarian tourists drowned during the incident.

The session will be held Thursday at the Ohrid Court. The Bulgarians are expected to explain how exactly the boat sank; were there safety vests on board for all passengers, and if the captain, Sotir Filevski, knew the exact number of people he had taken.

According to latest data, the maximum number of passengers should have been 35, instead of the previous stated 43. At the time of the tragedy, however, about 60 people were on board of Ilinden.

Another debatable issue is claims people were let stand on the upper, panoramic deck, in violation of safety rules, something the defendant, Filevski, denies.

As early as the day of the tragedy, it was revealed that one of the most important ropes had been torn because it had not been as well-lubricated as the other one, according to undisclosed expert sources, cited by the Bulgarian news agency BTA.

Open windows on the lower deck had allowed water to enter the boat, contributing to the fastest sinking all while, according to the ship's construction design and to safety rules, these windows had to be tightly closed, sealed and never to be even slightly open.

After the Thursday questioning of the technical experts, Bulgarian lawyers are to pose at least 70 questions demanding to expand the probe and the conclusions.

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