Culprits for Bulgaria's Ohrid Lake Tragedy Sentenced

The tourist boat Ilinden sank in the Macedonian Ohrid Lake and killed 15 Bulgarians on September 5, 2009. Photo by BGNES

The two men accused of being responsible for the sinking of the tourist boat Ilinden in the Macedonian Ohrid Lake that killed 15 Bulgarians on September 5, 2009, received guilty verdicts.

Macedonian Sotir Filevski, captain of the ship and Croatian Branko Baic, the representative of the German company Lloyd, which issued the necessary certificate ensuring Ilinden can be used to transport tourists, both received one year behind bars over the tragedy..

The Ohrid Court resumed the case in February after it obtained official rights to try in Baic's absence.

The accident was caused by a torn steel rope, according to the conclusions of engineering experts.The steel rope in the left side of the outdated ship Ilinden ripped shortly after the more than 50 Bulgarian tourists boarded it, which led the vessel to overturn.

The ensuing panic led 12 tourists to go to the right part of the overcrowded ship, which accelerated its sinking, the engineering experts say. The ship was allowed to take up to 43 passengers on board.

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.

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