Screams, wrecked vehicles and people calling for help. This was the scene encountered by the first firefighters to arrive after the two serious chain-reaction crashes on the Trakia Motorway near Yambol. Eleven people died in the incidents on November 10.
Among the first at the scene were Inspector Stancho Nankov, firefighter Valeri Slavov and senior firefighter Ivan Velikov. To reach the damaged vehicles, the teams first removed sections of the guardrails.
„When we arrived, the scene was horrifying – screams, shouts, cries – I cannot describe it in words,“ Inspector Stancho Nankov told BTA.They cut into the vehicles to free those trapped inside
The rescue operation began simultaneously at several locations. One of the teams began firefighting operations on the burned-out vehicles, while the others started evacuating and removing the injured.
„We began cutting into the vehicles themselves,“ Nankov said. The firefighters handed the people they had freed over to teams from the Emergency Medical Assistance Centre, then checked all the wrecked vehicles again to make sure no one had been overlooked.
„We immediately began removing those who were trapped. They were pulled from the wrecked vehicles and handed over to the Emergency Medical Assistance Centre,“ Valeri Slavov recounted. According to him, the teams continued working until the incident was fully dealt with – the damaged vehicles had been removed and the road cleared.
Senior firefighter Ivan Velikov also described the first minutes as chaotic and difficult. „Our first actions were to start cutting into the vehicles and get the injured out of them as quickly as possible,“ he said.
„The most important thing is not to be afraid or panic“
Hundreds of firefighters and police officers from several regions took part in the rescue operation, along with military personnel and volunteers from the Bulgarian Red Cross.
According to Stancho Nankov, the most important thing in such a situation is for the teams to remain composed. „Either way, we are there to do our job. And whatever depended on us, whatever we could do – we did,“ he said. The firefighter also expressed his condolences to the relatives of those who died.
Nankov is 26 years old and has served in the fire service for two years. Valeri Slavov has 14 years of experience, while Ivan Velikov has five. All three say that despite what they experienced, they would choose their profession again.
„I want to be of service to society, and here I feel that this is where I belong,“ Nankov said.For Slavov, it is a profession he enjoys, while Velikov sums it up in two words: „Because it is a calling.“
Sources: bta.bg, bnr.bg