A day after the tragic incident in which a 78-year-old man died, crushed by a fallen tree branch in Plovdiv, the district administration issued its first comment. It turns out that the tree that caused the death of the elderly man while he was sitting on a bench was phytosanitary healthy. This was stated on the air of "Hello, Bulgaria" on Nova TV by Tsvetomir Tsvetkov, deputy mayor for ecology of the "North" district in Plovdiv.
"The check for this particular tree that caused the fatal incident is that it was phytosanitary healthy. That is, its branches are healthy, it has leaves, there are no visible traces of a disease typical of this species," Tsvetkov explained. He added that the administration does not only work on citizens' signals, and experts also carry out daily field inspections.
According to the deputy mayor, the cause of such incidents is systemic and concerns the entire green system of Plovdiv, not just the "North" district. "The state of the green system in Plovdiv, regarding tree vegetation, is morally outdated. The trees are quite old", he emphasized.
Tsvetkov pointed out that quick and serious measures are needed to deal with the problem, which the district administration cannot take alone. As specific steps, he indicated the need for comprehensive digitalization and passportization of the trees in the city. "We need much more resources to be able to do our job better", he said and specified that for the "North" district Only four people are responsible for this activity.
Tsvetomir Tsvetkov expressed his condolences to the relatives of the deceased man and assured that his team is on the ground and is carrying out inspections of the vegetation in the area of the incident.