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Bulgarian team to collect DNA samples from Struma crash victims' relatives

Bulgarian team to collect DNA samples from Struma crash victims' relatives
Sofia, 24 November 2021 (MIA) — A team of six investigators from Bulgaria's National Investigative Service and three prosecutors from Bulgaria’s Pernik Regional Prosecutor's Office will conduct the preliminary investigation into the fatal traffic accident on the Struma highway that left 45 citizens of North Macedonia dead, according to MIA’s Sofia correspondent. Prosecutors from the Supreme Prosecutor's Office’s international department are coordinating the legal matters, Siyka Mileva, the spokesperson for Bulgaria’s Public Prosecutor, told 24 Chasa Bulgarian daily. Bulgaria’s Chief Public Prosecutor Ivan Geshev is in constant communication with North Macedonia’s Chief Public Prosecutor Ljubomir Joveski, she said. To determine the causes of the accident and identify the bodies of the Macedonian citizens killed in the crash, a prosecutor and an investigator from Bulgaria will arrive in the country to request legal assistance from North Macedonia’s prosecution and personally obtain documents necessary for the investigation, Mileva said. The Bulgarian team will also obtain DNA samples from the victims’ relatives to identify them as soon as possible, she added. mr/