site.btaDefence Minister Karakachanov Awards Servicemen Who Rescued Crashed Helicopter Crew

Defence Minister Karakachanov Awards Servicemen Who Rescued Crashed Helicopter Crew

Varna, on the Black Sea, June 15 (BTA) - Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov and Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Andrei Botsev awarded on Thursday 14 servicemen, who took part in the rescue operation to save the crew of the Bulgarian Navy AS Panther 565 MB helicopter, which crashed in the Black Sea last week, killing the pilot.

The injured servicemen feel much better and will be released from hospital by the end of the week, Karakachanov said.

Asked when the crash investigation is expected to conclude, Karakachanov said there is a legal deadline for this and he will not try to speed up the investigation.

"The truth is that everyone did their job professionally, especially the rescue team," the Minister said. According to him, the cause of the crash is not in the helicopters. "In these difficult times we live in and given the shortages in the Army, serving in the armed forces is heroic and we owe the Army respect," he went on to say.

Later on Thursday Karakachanov visited the Chaika helicopter base in Varna.
 
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who is also in Varna to take part in a youth forum, told journalists that he is monitoring the injured pilots' condition and will visit them, as well as the Chaika helicopter base. He recalled that regardless what the causes of the incident turn out to be, the Bulgarian pilots are flying much less than NATO's minimum standards.

Radev further commented that the projects for the Army are only part of its modernization, which does not solely constitute replacing weapons with newer ones. The modernization is a complex set of measures and in addition to weapons, it includes replacing and perfecting the statutory framework, organizational changes, raising the motivation and social status of the people. The most important thing, according to the President, is to ensure proper conditions for military training to military personnel, which guarantees their safety and health, while generating the necessary combat capabilities.