site.btaDecember 4, 1994: Twelve Freeze to Death in Mountain Trek Gone Awry

Thirty years ago today, 12 people froze to death during a trek in the Balkan Range gone awry.

On December 2, 1994, a group of 50 tourists from Kardzhali aged between 10 and 64 set off for the Dobrila mountain hut in the Balkan Mountain Range. From there they headed to Ambaritsa Peak (2,166 m) planning to cross the mountainside and descend the northern slopes to reach the Ambaritsa mountain hut. When the hikers reached the peak, the temperature dropped sharply, and fog came down. At around 1 a.m., the group succumbed to panic and confusion. They split up and went in different directions.

Olga Anastasova, the keeper of the Ambaritsa mountain hut, alerted the Mountain Rescue Service after the group she was expecting failed to show up. Forty rescuers from Plovdiv, Sopot, Sofia and Troyan set off to the scene. The first survivors arrived at the hut at 5 a.m.

By the end of December 4, the surviving tourists were transported by helicopters and ambulances to hospitals in Plovdiv. Twelve people died of frostbite. The rescue party found clothes, underwear and blankets scattered in the area, which was likely caused by hypothermia leading to paradoxical undressing.