Rumyana Bachvarova

Bulgaria will put in place strict border controls unprecedented for the EU within a few days, outgoing Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said.

Movement into and out of the country will be monitored meticulously due to an agreement with the United States sealed earlier this year, she has told private NOVA TV broadcaster.

Members of terrorist organisations are passing through Bulgarian territory in an attempt to reach Western Europe, stated outgoing Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova, reported BGNES.

At present, there are no reports of threats of terrorist attacks on the territory of the country and against Bulgarian interests abroad, added Bachvarova.

The agreement between Bulgaria and the USA on granting access to Bulgaria to American information about high-risk migrants will be signed irrespective of the change in administrations, assured Assistant Secretary for International Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security Alan Bersin who is visiting Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's institutions refused to commit to a deadline for the removal of the dangerous cisterns from Hitrino and letting in local residents.

At a briefing earlier on Wednesday, representatives of the Interior Ministry underlined that the most important thing is to avoid putting people's health and life at risk.

Tuesday is going to be the day with the highest risk in the village of Hitrino after the tragedy on Saturday because special cranes will begin lifting the cisterns from the train which derailed on the morning of December 10.

This why restriction measures in the village will be even more serious.

Seven and not eight people died in the explosion following a train derailment in Hitrino, northeastern Bulgaria, outgoing Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said.

In a briefing with reporters after a night of cleanup operations on site, she has not elaborated.

On Sunday, outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced the number of victims had risen to eight.

A day of mourning was declared by the Bulgarian government on Monday after a cargo train carrying petrol and propylene derailed in the village of Hitrino in northeast Bulgaria, causing an explosion that killed seven and injured 29 people.

Gas has been flowing out of two tanks after the expolosion in the northeastern Bulgarian village of Hitrino, outgoing Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said.

Bulgaria's government has said steps are being made to declare Monday a Day of Nartional Morning following the incident in the northeastern village of Hitrino, in which at least five people have lost their lives.

Bulgaria has spent nearly a quarter of a billion BGN on border security measures since 2014, official figures show.

Measures including equipment and staff deployment are worth some BGN 75.32 M, Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said in a written reply to an information request cited by daily newspaper Sega.