One dead in skydiving accident in Bulgaria

Sofia, Oct 24 (IANS) One skydiver died and another was injured in a skydiving accident in Bulgaria, the country's Interior Ministry confirmed.

Mariola Markova, spokesperson for the Sofia Regional Directorate of Interior, said on Wednesday that authorities were alerted at 9:12 a.m. local time about an incident involving skydivers between the villages of Novachene and Litakovo, nearly 75 km northeast of the capital Sofia.

The owner of the hot air balloon was arrested, Xinhua news agency reported.

The initial information from the Interior Ministry was for three skydivers involved in an accident between the villages of Litakovo and Novachene, near Botevgrad.

Emergency staff, including police, firefighters, and medical crews, rushed to the scene.

One of the skydivers was found dead upon their arrival, while the second, who was conscious but unable to move, was immediately transported to hospital, Markova said.

The skydivers, identified as Bulgarian adults, had reportedly jumped from a hot air balloon using parachutes when the accident occurred.

The fine for using a balloon without a flight-worthiness license is BGN 3,000 to 10,000, and the same for an unlicensed pilot.

There are only 11 registered hot air balloons in Bulgaria and four of them are flight-worthy, said Marinova.

She said that the authorities have no way of controlling the purchase of such aircraft.

"Anybody who acquires an aircraft is required to submit papers with the Civil Aviation Administration. We do an inspection and issue the requisite papers, if everything is in order," she added.

There is also no ban on jumps from hot air balloons.

"Unfortunately, the lovers of extreme sports get increasingly creative in their pursuit of an adrenalin rush. We might seek legislative changes, and we will seek support from the Interior Ministry and the tax authorities as we are all involved in a process that needs to be taken to end for all this to stop," said Marinova.

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