After the Tragic Incident in the Struma River: Divers Who Recovered the Family's Bodies Speak

Three days of mourning have been declared in the municipality of Dupnitsa following the tragedy near the village of Pastuh, where two children aged eight and eleven, along with their grandmother and grandfather, drowned in the Struma River. The search operation lasted more than 24 hours, and two volunteer divers from Kyustendil, together with a firefighter from the regional fire service, managed to recover the bodies of the two missing children, risking their own lives in the process.

Tragic Incident in Kyustendil District: Elderly Couple and Their Two Grandchildren Have Gone Missing in the Waters of the Struma River

One of the children entered the river to swim and began to drown. The others rushed in to help and were all pulled under the water. On Friday evening, volunteers were called upon to assist in the search for those who had gone missing in the Struma River

Malin Popov: "The water was extremely murky, visibility was zero, the river level was high, and it was already late when we started – around 9.30 p.m. Late that evening I wanted to secure myself in case something happened, so that if I was spotted, they would be able to pull me out."

Lyuboslav Kovachki: "I wasn't in the boat – I was in the water holding it steady so we could keep it under control. The engine was taking in water from below, and if it had overturned, that would have been the end for us – there would have been nothing we could do. We would have been completely helpless."

Stoyan Stoyanov: "The river itself and this location are extremely dangerous – there are deep sections, whirlpools, fast currents, sediment, submerged rocks, vegetation and fallen trees. My appeal is for everyone to be extremely careful and not allow something like this to happen again, because this tragedy is immense."