Sofia Metro Suicide Victim Was Drunk before Incident

Thousands were stranded in Sofia's subway Thursday evening after the management stopped all trains due to police investigating a suicide incident. File photo by BGNES

The man who died on subway tracks in Bulgaria's capital Sofia Thursday evening has been drunk.

The Bulgarian 24 Chassa daily writes his alcohol blood level is yet to be revealed, and the initial lead he committed suicide has not been ruled out.

The story developed close to 6 pm at the Lomsko Shosse metro station, halting all trains between Lomsko Shose and Obelya for over two hours and all other trains for over an hour. The trains were stopped due to police investigating what happened.

The man entered the tunnel and was first killed by high voltage and then hit by a subway engine. It remains unclear how the victim managed to walk 60 meters inside this tunnel since there is a tall fence and a number of security cameras.

At the time, there have been no other passengers at the station to notice him. He is identified as Eduard Mikaelyan, 44, from Sofia.

24 Chassa remind that this is not the first deadly incident in Sofia's metro – several years ago a homeless person was hit by a train, while at the beginning of 2012 a man committed suicide. There are also reports of passengers, mainly children, crossing the tracks to go to the other side.

After a meeting between the management of the subway and the police, a plan to place 5-meter tall barriers at the end of each station emerged. This is needed because the stations are longer than the trains.

Mayor, Yordanka Fandakova, has ordered the use of buses in case the subway has to close over emergency situations.

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