Heavy snow and bad weather leads to closure of roads around the country

The situation in the country remains complicated following the heavy snowfall, Interior Ministry said at 11.30 am on Sunday. The forces and resources of the Fire Safety and Civil Protection units are involved in locating and eliminating 80 accidents with 83 pieces of equipment and 264 personnel, the Ministry added.

The Pass of the Republic and the Shipka Pass  are completely closed for traffic due to the heavy snowfall, snow drifts and fallen trees, the Staraga Zagora Regional Directorate of Inferior told BTA earlier during the day .

The situation in the town of Shipka and the village of Sheinovo is severe. There were several stranded vehicles, including an ambulance and a fire brigade. Heavy equipment has been deployed and the same have been towed away. 

Teams of the Interior Ministry are working on the ground. Settlements in Varna, Sliven and Blagoevgrad regions were left without power supply.

Kotlenski Pass is also closed due to the snowfall, Targovishte Regional Road Directorate told BTA. It continues to rain over the region. The snow cover is 10-25 cm.

Other closed routes due to the bad weather: Silistra - Shumen, Shumen - Ruse, and Kotel - Petolachkata. Тruck traffic is restricted on many other roads around the country. 

The Interior Ministry reported later on Sunday that Fire Safety and Civil Protection teams have responded to 144 accidents with 149 units of equipment and 459 officers. Firefighters and rescuers have responded to around 300 signals related to the serious weather conditions as of Sunday noon. 

A total of 5,275 calls have been made to the 112 emergency phone number as of 1:00 pm. Due to the increased call volume, callers are advised to remain on the line until an operator responds.