The cause of the fire and the location of its original source in the bus with Macedonian tourists returning from Istanbul, which happened on the Struma highway, are known, prosecutor Biser Mihailov and investigator Marian Marinov, who are working on clearing the tragedy, told BTV.

According to MIA’s correspondent in Sofia, Marijan Marinov refused to reveal the cause of the fire and said that he would “leave it to the experts” who already have their “theses”. However, the investigator commented that there was large piece of highway barrier on one of the tires of the Macedonian bus next to the front door, “smashed accordion” was found and “the plastic tank was destroyed”.

You can imagine the friction and sparks, Mihailov said. The investigator added that the bus was old and “recycled” in Turkey and that all its equipment had been replaced and it was yet to be clarified whether it was purchased from factory.