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Heavy Rains, Flooding Leave Four Dead In Bulgaria

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People try to pull out a car submerged in the sea at a camping site near Tsarevo on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast on September 6.
People try to pull out a car submerged in the sea at a camping site near Tsarevo on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast on September 6.

Heavy rains pounded areas across the Black and Aegean sea regions, leaving at least four people dead in southeastern Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Interior Ministry said on September 6 that two men and a woman in the municipality of Tsarevo, 50 kilometers south of the Black Sea city of Burgas.

Tsarevo Mayor Georgi Lapchev identified the two women as the president of the regional court in Tsarevo, Maria Moskova, and her daughter, Daniela Yordanova, a veterinarian.

The two were traveling in a car that fell into a river after a bridge collapsed and the rushing water dragged the vehicle into the sea.

The rains dumped unusually large volumes of water on the region, swamping rivers, flooding two dams, sweeping away bridges and triggering landslides. TV footage showed cars and camper vans being swept out to the Black Sea.

Tsarevo is a popular holiday destination in Bulgaria, known for its small seaside villages, beaches, and a natural park.

A police spokesperson told the BTA news agency that there were numerous reports of flooded buildings, and electricity in Tsarevo had been cut off in flooded areas as a safety precaution.

Visiting the flooded areas on September 5, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov pledged government compensation for flooded areas.

The heavy rainstorms also affected neighboring Greece and Turkey with at least 11 people reported dead in the three countries, including Bulgaria.

A flood at a campsite in Turkey's Kirklareli Province, near the border with Bulgaria, killed at least four people and carried away bungalow homes, the Associated Press reported. Rescuers were still searching for two people reported missing at the campsite.

Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, was also hit by torrential rains, sending walls of water rushing through some districts. Authorities say at least two people died.

In Greece, a record rainfall caused at least two deaths near the central city of Volos and three people were reported missing.

With reporting by AP and AFP.
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