Bus with 40 Japanese Tourists Evacuated after Being Stranded in NE Bulgaria

Bulgaria's outgoing Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova. File photo, BGNES

A bus stranded along the snowy roads of northeastern Bulgaria has been succeesfully evacuated after failing to go ahead along the road between Razgrad and Shumen.

The incident has taken place despite a blanket ban on using the roads in the small hours, amid severe weather conditions throughout the country, outgoing Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova has said.

This is "a complete irresponsibility... putting at risk foreign tourists to Bulgaria," Pavlova has said at a press conference dedicated to the road conditions on the country.

Traffic in Bulgaria has been paralyzed by snow and road ice for several days after heavy snowfall and temperatures that went below -15 degrees for several nights in a roow.

The Road Infrastructure Agency "managed to pull [the tourists] out under very harsh conditions", Pavlova has added.

But Nikolay Nikolov, the fire brigade chief, has warned it is rescuers' vehicles that are to be pulled out after the operation.

He has mentioned another incident, of a "leader of an organization" who also failed to go on in the snowy night.

The leader "wanted personally the head of [the road agency] to rescue him," Nikolov has added with a smile.

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