Attack on Israelis in Bulgaria

YNet

At least 7 Israelis were killed and over 20 others injured, some gravely, Wednesday, in a terror attack an Israeli tourists’ bus traveling in Burgas, Bulgaria, some 400 kilometers east of the capital, Sofia

Bulgarian media reported of that the explosion took place while the bus was still in the terminal of Sarafovo Airport in the city.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has called for a situation assessment. Lieberman was also briefed on the situation by Bulgarian FM Nikolay Mladenov. Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino are currently following events from the Foreign Ministry’s situation room as well.

Security sources said that there was no intelligence indicating that Israelis traveling in the area may fall prey to a terror attack.

“An explosion occurred in a passenger’s bus with Israeli citizens at the Burgas Airport,” Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikoliv confirmed to a local radio station. Bulgarian security forces and emergency medical teams have blocked off the area. The airport has been closed as well.

According to media reports, a suicide bomber boarded one of three buses shuttling Israeli tourist across the terminal at around 5:30 pm and then detonated an explosive vest. Bulgarian media said 44 people were on the vehicle at the time of the explosion.

The Foreign Ministry has formed a team of experts that will fly to Burgas and assist local authorities in whatever they need. The Israeli Embassy in Sofia has been mobilized and is ready to assist the team, which includes ZAKA disaster recovery officials in identifying the victims and ensure that the injured and other Israelis that were unharmed return to Israel as soon as possible.

Burgas is the second-largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and a favorite summer destination for Israeli tourists.

An eyewitness told Channel 2 News that Bulgarian authorities were slow to respond to the event; adding that search and rescue teams and the paramedics “Didn’t seem to care too much. They took a while getting these two small fire-extinguishers to fight a burning bus, and the airport’s fire truck took over 15 minutes to get there.”

Shosh Eyler, who was on one of the buses that escaped the blast, told Ynet that the blast took place seconds after the groups boarded the buses. “The bus next to ours just exploded. There was smoke everywhere and people were running hysterically. We got off the bus and local security officers got everyone into the terminal immediately.”