Bulgaria Will Have Two More Air Ambulance Helicopters by the End of March, Deputy PM Said

By the end of March, Bulgaria will have two more air ambulance helicopters, Deputy Prime Minister, Grozdan Karadzhov, announced on February 7.

So far, the only air ambulance available to the country is now fully operational.

During a rescue mission last week en route to Bansko, the helicopter made an emergency landing in the Samokov area.

Grozdan Karadzhov explained that the issue was not technical but software-related. After consultations with the Italian manufacturing company, the module was replaced, and the helicopter is now ready for use again.

Two more helicopters will arrive this month and next, allowing the first one to undergo technical maintenance in Italy, the Deputy Prime Minister added.

"Yesterday at 11.00 hours and 20 minutes the first test flight of the machine was conducted. It gave no problems and at 12.30 around 13.00 hours a message arrived that the helicopter was now operational. This was communicated to colleagues at the Ministry of Health, and air emergency medical services were resumed. We expect the next helicopter to arrive between the 17th and 25th of this month. The third one will most likely arrive by the end of March," said Grozdan Karadzhov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport.