A man who lived near the "Petrohan" hut, where the bodies of three men were found a few days ago - Ivaylo Ivanov, Decho Vassilev and Plamen Stattev - spoke up.
In a Facebook post, Pavlin Antonov tells details about the dead men.
"I live 1.5 km from the "Petrohan" hut. They were my closest neighbors.
Yes, they were closed. In five years, I never stepped beyond the barrier. I didn't even insist. I don't know much about them, so I'll limit myself to what I know.
Life is different here in the mountains. You can't rely on ambulance, police, fire department, road maintenance, snow removal, garbage collection... You can only rely on your neighbors.
Ivaylo and Plamen (two of the deceased) saved me three times - they drove me through the snowdrifts to the hospital with a severe hypertensive crisis, they took care of me and my animals when I broke my spine a year ago. We have helped each other countless times. That's what neighbors in the mountains do.
Here are their "crimes" (that I know of), for which, according to various mischievous people, they deserved to die. Without authority and real means to achieve it, they tried to change something. When they fenced their yard with their "terrible" fence, tourists had to walk 50 meters away from the old path. In the summer, dozens of blueberry pickers come here, whom the patrols would remind to pick up their trash when they leave. They would fight and film poachers. They would put out fires. That's it.
I would have lasted. It's easier, more convenient somehow. Until all sorts of mischievous things crawled out, spewing malice or making a few leva/euro with sensational headlines. It's like, they deserved to die...
No. They were people. Neighbors. What they deserve after such a tragedy is peace of mind.
Condolences to their loved ones."