The investigation of the burnt bus will last at least six months: The causes of the accident will be discovered, the culprits will be more difficult

bus accident in Bulgaria
Bus accident in Bulgaria, 46 passengers from Macedonia died / Photo: Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP / Profimedia

The tachograph is completely burned, the bodies are very charred, which means that we can not find out if the driver had a heart attack. It is possible that the bus was smuggling fuel, or one of the passengers, or the drivers were transporting flammable substances, such as fireworks and firecrackers.

The investigation will last for six months the accident in which 45 passengers from Macedonia were killed and seven people were injured after a Macedonian bus of the company "Besa Trans" caught fire on the highway "Struma", say the Bulgarian experts for the local media. They believe that the causes of the accident will be announced soon, but not the culprits.
The Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski stated at a press conference that the investigation into the bus accident is being conducted by the Bulgarian investigative bodies, and that a team from the Ministry of Interior has been sent to assist in the investigation.

According to initial information from the investigating authorities in Bulgaria, there were a total of 52 people on the bus, of which 45 died and seven were hospitalized at the Sofia Clinic. Of those killed, 12 were children.

Macedonian Public Prosecutor Ljubomir Joveski, who traveled to Bulgaria due to the accident, says that at this moment it is not possible to say what is the cause of the accident, but two reasons are possible - the human factor or the technical malfunction of the vehicle. He noted that these are more extensive expertise.

- Our fellow public prosecutors from the Republic of Bulgaria, with whom we have excellent cooperation, fix all traces, collect data and at this moment nothing can be said at all what is the cause of the accident - said Joveski.

I heard thunder, but I did not understand what it was

In the meantime, rare testimonies of the event appear in the Bulgarian media. Ilija Nikolov from Bulgaria, one of the people who first called the emergency number 112 to report the bus accident, revealed to the Bulgarian National Television new details about the incident in which 46 Macedonian citizens lost their lives. Nikolov is working on a facility 500 meters away from the accident and together with his colleagues is repairing a landslide near the highway. On the fateful night he slept in the camp of the facility.

- I heard a thunder, but I could not understand what it was. My colleague and I went down to the Tower and saw that something was burning in the protective fence. It burned a little, then gradually intensified and expanded. We approached and wanted to help, but there was no way. It was already burning a lot, we could not get closer - Ilija told BNT.

According to him, there were already people who got off the bus in the left lane of the road.

"They spoke to me in an unknown language, I did not understand where they came from," he added.

Immediately after seeing that a catastrophe had occurred, his colleague rang 112, and he took a searchlight and started signaling the oncoming cars. Many drivers stopped and ran to help the injured.

- The police came in 17-18 minutes and we then went up to the base. And when we went downstairs, we saw pieces of burning tires. According to him, it smelled of burnt, but did not smell of fuel.

The tachograph burned, the bodies charred

The president of the Bulgarian Drivers' Association, Hristo Radkov, who was at the scene of the accident and took part in the expertise, believes that the causes of the accident and the outbreak of the fire will be difficult to determine, and may remain a secret.

- At the moment we are just guessing, and it can stay that way until the end, because the bus burned down. If you ask how fast he drove, we can not say. The tachograph is completely burnt, the bodies are very charred, which means that the driver, even if he had a heart attack - we can not find out, because an autopsy can not be performed - explained the expert.

According to Radkov, the accident itself was not so severe, and the large number of victims comes from the fire. For him, the big question is what caused the fire.

- Eyewitnesses say they heard an explosion. The oil does not cause such a fire, it burns something else. There are many ways to set a bus on fire, but this is a new bus made of non-combustible materials - something was burning very strongly there - added Radkov.

Macedonian court expert with more than 10 years of experience Dejan Trpevski, for "Morning briefing" explains the procedures and possibilities of the expertise procedure.

- The more material evidence is collected on the spot, the easier the expertise is performed. Unfortunately, in Macedonia this is rarely done thoroughly, but I think that in this situation in Bulgaria serious expertise will be done. The making of a skillful finding and opinion covers all factors, including the weather, the type and pattern of the tires, and so on. Much of the evidence has now been destroyed, but I think the survivors' statements will lead to some conclusions. Initial information was that the bus flew off and overturned. But it is not so. If there was no fire, everyone would probably be alive - says Trpevski.

 

Buses problematic for expertise

The expertise of a bus accident is specific, because it has a large number of passengers. The problem is that passengers carry luggage, and you can not control what is inside. It is possible that there were firecrackers, which were not detected by the customs controls. He commented on speculation that the bus may have been fueled with fuel smuggling tanks, as fuel is significantly cheaper in Turkey.

- The bus as a means of transport requires the highest protection. Any change requires homologation. Installation of additional tanks is not allowed, as well as the transfer of flammable substances. It is an open secret that buses coming from Turkey transport fuel because it is drastically cheaper there, because it is transported from Syria. Bulgarian buses run the same way. Everyone knows, and no one takes action. There can be no profitability with that price of arrangements. Someone should have noticed that. This is now unfair competition, endangering the lives of passengers with illegal actions. If the institutions take measures, half of the carriers will be closed - adds Trpevski.

Duma: It is difficult to find evidence whether the driver had a heart attack

Dr. Alexei Duma, former director of Forensic Medicine, for "Morning Briefing" explained the victim identification procedure and a medical investigation into the possible causes of the accident. Regarding speculation that a driver's weakness or heart attack may have occurred and how it is being determined, Duma said it depends on the degree of burn whether it can be seen that someone has had a heart attack.

- If it is a quick heart attack, it is very difficult to find evidence. The heart muscle is well protected in the body. Knowing the abilities of colleagues, they will quickly come to conclusions. It bothers me that quasi-scientists and cafe scientists spread gossip that people hear and that is very destructive. It regulates how to communicate with the public. Relatives who have lost loved ones are in shock, in emotion and are instinctively aggressive. The culprit has not been identified, so the aggression is directed at the teams working on identification. We need skilled people and good journalists who will communicate properly - says Dr. Duma.

PHOTO + VIDEO | LIVE: All information about the serious traffic accident in Bulgaria

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