Tue, May 22 2012

French expert says Sofia-Kardam probe hindered by lack of co-ordination

Mon, Apr 14 2008 20:03 CET

byAlex Bivol

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Bad co-ordination between the different institutions investigating the Sofia-Kardam train fire, which took the lives of nine people in February, was the main obstacle in the way of the probe, according to a report authored by French expert Jean-Gérard Koenig, quoted by mediapool.bg on April 14.

Koenig is the head of the French government's land transport accidents investigation bureau BE-ATT and was in Sofia at the invitation of Bulgaria's Transport Ministry to help with enquiries into the deadly train fire.

The institutions working on the case are not co-ordinated, working each on their own and at their own pace, Koenig is expected to say in his report to the Transport Ministry, mediapool.bg said.

The ministry's unit that investigates railway incidents is expected to draft its interim report on the incident, using Koenig's expert opinion and prosecution findings, in the near future, according to mediapool.bg. The unit's experts, however, were not allowed on the site of the fire until three weeks after it happened, the website said.

Police investigators, first on the scene, drew the ire of Deputy Justice Minister Boiko Rashkov, quoted by mediapool.bg who accused them of "gross procedural mistakes" and inadvertently destroying evidence.

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