July Morning kills youth in Kamen Bryag

July Morning kills youth in Kamen Bryag

Wed, Jul 01 2009 10:30 CET 1211 Views
A 22-year-old male from Varna has fallen to his death in Kamen Bryag, on the northern Bulgarian seaside. The tragic accident occurred during the traditional July Morning celebration, where thousands of young people from across the country gather and stay up all night to greet the sunrise on July 1, Bulgarian news agency BTA has reported.

The youth had fallen off a 60-metre cliff, dying instantly, mangled between the rocks and the surf. According to Kavarna mayor, Tsonko Tsonev, there were more than 10 000 people present at the annual July Morning gathering.

The authorities were alerted at 1.45am and a paramedics unit and the fire brigade were dispatched to the scene. The firefighters were struggling for more than two hours to extract the corpse, while emergency units were delayed in reaching the site thanks to the hundreds of kiosks and tents pitched all over the perimeter, obstructing their advance.

"How is possible that at a Bulgarian football match, where there are barely 300 people on the terraces, there are always paramedic units on site, and here, where there are thousands of people, there wasn't a single ambulance available?" doctor Violeta Markova said.

The organisers claim that 50 police officers were deployed onto the scene from the local precinct. Apparently they had spent three days before the gathering, installing signs indicating the location of hazardous zones around the cliff's edge.

The traditional morning concert, July Morning Fest, started at 4.30am with a minute's silence.