The search for 13-year-old Nikolay from the Stara Zagora village of Konare continues, NOVA reported.
The boy has Down Syndrome and has not been seen since Tuesday afternoon. Hundreds of rescuers and volunteers from all over Bulgaria flocked to Stara Zagora in less than a day. Dozens of police officers are participating in the operation, but so far there is no sign of the boy. The search is scheduled to continue until midnight.
All day yesterday, Nikolay's mother was waiting for the good news that he had been found. “To be told “Come, your child is with me”. To be kept warm and fed. These are my greatest expectations”, she shared.
The area around the village was divided into sectors. The perimeter was expanded by more than three kilometers.
"We will cover both the ground and the sky", explained Gurkovo Mayor Kancho Papazov. "All abandoned houses and wells will be searched", added Konare Mayor Stancho Stefanov.
"We are helping in any way we can. We are listening to the guidelines of the mayors and the police", said volunteer Venelin Stoilov. "There was a small step. The dog got there and then lost track", added Daniel Yordanov, who is also searching for the child.
With each passing hour of the search, the concerns grow greater.
"All scenarios are real. The people working in the field are prepared, including for a tragic ending", explained Papazov. “My worries are getting much bigger. My thoughts are getting worse”, said the boy's mother.
Geographically, the settlement is at the eastern end of the Rose Valley. The region is traditionally among the warmest in the country, but it is still cold at night. The forecasters' forecast is that at night and on Wednesday on the southern slope of the Stara Planina Mountains around Gurkovo the thermometer will show about 4-5 degrees. On Friday - about 3 degrees, and on Sunday - it will touch zero. In the coming days there are conditions for fog, and the region is vulnerable to fog.
In addition, the “Zhrebchevo” dam is nearby. These two things are the reason why the cold is felt even more dramatically. Probably experiencing the night and the hours before dawn would be difficult for anyone, especially for a small child with scanty clothing. In the coming days, the coldest weather is expected to be on Sunday and Monday with minimum night and morning temperatures for Konare just below freezing.