Senior Bulgarian Prosecutors Probe Ownership of Deadly Dam

The southern Bulgarian village of Biser was hit by a flood wave on February 6, following a dam failure. Photo by BGNES

Senior Bulgarian prosecutors are going to assist the investigation in the ownership of the "deadly" Ivanovo dam.

Damage from the flood in the southern Bulgarian village of Biser on February 6 is estimated at over BGN 3 M – 55 houses have been destroyed in Biser and the nearby village of Leshnikovo after the cracked wall of the Ivanovo dam broke and submerged adjacent areas.

The amount, however, does not include the damage to the infrastructure, such as the railroad, the roads and the bridges, which will make it many times higher. 10 people perished in the flood.

Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, has ordered prosecutors from the Supreme Prosecutor's Office of Cassations and from the Appellate Prosecutor's Office in the second largest city of Plovdiv to monitor and help with the case. Three more prosecutors from the city of Haskovo have also been added to the team, which also includes 6 investigators.

Despite a number of interrogations, the ownership of the dam remains unclear with the main dispute being between the municipality of the town of Harmanli and the Defense Ministry, both saying the dam does not belong to them.

Meanwhile, it was reported that on Monday at an official ceremony at the Bulgarian Red Cross headquarters in Sofia, Brazilian ambassador to Bulgaria Washington Luis Perreira de Sousa will present a donation of USD 50 000 from his country for the reconstruction of Biser.

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