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© Velko Angelov
An hour and a half instead of 11 o’clock. That was how long the action in Stara Planina would last, in which four tourists were saved last night if Bulgaria had a mountain helicopter, the director of the Mountain Rescue Service of the Bulgarian Red Cross, Emil Neshev, told BTV. According to him, the difference is drastic.
Bulgaria is the only country in the European Union that does not have a medical helicopter. The last air ambulance was sold abroad in 2019, making air rescue operations in the mountains impossible. In February last year, the government pledged BGN 20 million under the “Growing Regions” operational program to buy two medical helicopters. A month ago, President Rumen Radev proposed the creation of an air medical emergency system, with medical helicopters to be purchased in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas and Pleven for BGN 85 million with EU funds.
After a long operation on Saturday involving 30 rescuers and volunteers from Lovech and Troyan, four tourists lost in the Balkans were rescued. According to BTV, two people were seriously injured. Another tourist died after falling down a ditch some 300 meters deep in the Zhaltets peak area.
Later, the mayor of Karlovo Emil Kabaivanov told BNR that the body of the tourist who died yesterday and his companion, who was rescued and is in good condition, are in the “Botev” shelter. There are also two other tourists from Sopot, who are also in good condition. However, all four cannot be taken out of the mountains due to bad weather conditions. It is not yet clear whether this will be possible today due to the wind and fog from the hurricane in the Stara Planina region.
Since the beginning of the year there have been a total of three actions in the mountain with seven victims.
“The issue of the lack of a helicopter for the Mountain Rescue Service is extremely painful. I don’t know how the victims felt during that time as we treated them as we took them to the ambulances. Not to mention the risks we put the victims into. rescuers. I think I heard that we will have the first helicopter in 2023. And until then? How many people should die? “asked the director of the Mountain Rescue Service, Emil Neshev. He said that even if there had been a helicopter, the man He could not have been rescued as he probably died in the accident, but other tourists would have been rescued in an hour and a half, not 11 hours.
The reasons for accidents in the mountains are lack of preparation and information, bad weather and changes. Rescuers involved in the operation say the weather was hellish and advise tourists not to think about going to the mountains today.
Read more about the incidents here.
