The prosecutor’s office investigated the version of a terrorist act in the tragic incident on the Struma highway, but rejected it categorically. This was announced at a briefing by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Borislav Sarafov. He stressed that he did not say in the first hours that this version would be investigated so that there would be no speculation.
Sarafov also said that 15-20 eyewitnesses of the accident are currently circulating in the media, but the truth is that there are none and there are no eyewitnesses in the case.
„Forensic medical examinations of all the dead have been appointed. The autopsies are ready and they show that the main cause is suffocation. A fire technical expertise has also been appointed. A complex expertise has also been appointed. It will be understood why the fire broke out“, the deputy chief prosecutor announced.
Tomorrow, a team of prosecutors and investigators will leave for Skopje. The Attorney General of Northern Macedonia will be waiting for them and they will submit the request for legal assistance and will probably receive the DNA profiles of the relatives tomorrow.
„This way we can compare the DNA profiles that were taken by our forensic doctors and only in this way can we identify the bodies of the victims and then we can return each body so that they can be buried in a dignified manner,“ Sarafov explained.
The version for transporting fuel tubes was also studied. There were three tubes in which there was oil residue. They were not full and did not ignite. There are no cans of petrol and fuel, except for the usual ones for a bus, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor emphasized.
Interrogations and inspections are currently underway, including on the bus. It will be inspected by investigators and auto experts with a view to a final assessment of a technical malfunction.
For now, the leading version is about human error.
„We are also looking at the version of poor road markings and traffic organization. Our definite assessment is that the organization of the movement is poorly organized. This guardrail is not only not useful, it is dangerous for traffic“, Sarafov added.
The spokesperson of the Chief Prosecutor Siika Mileva revealed that one of the survivors, who was accommodated in „Pirogov“, said that eight people had escaped. But there are seven people in the hospital. The eighth person, if any, is currently being sought, because the possibility that the survivor may have a wrong memory is not ruled out. It was also reported that the dead were 44, not 45 people. There were a total of 52 people on the bus.
In addition, initial data show that there was no explosion, but intense burning.
