Rescue services have mounted two operations for fishermen who disappeared in stormy seas off the northern Bulgarian coastline of Kavarna and Shabla.
 
On the morning of September 22, at about 8.44am, a distress signal was received by the coast guard indicating that a boat was in trouble near Bolata, municipality of Kavarna. One of the fishermen was subsequently plucked out of the water, but his 40-year-old companion Svetlin Todorov is still unaccounted for.
 
Reportedly, both fishermen went out in very poor weather conditions with rubber dinghies and no safety equipment. Todorov reportedly is employed at the Consumer’s Protection Commission.   
 
Meanwhile the 30-year-old fisherman who vanished after his fishing boat capsized near a camp site in the black sea resort of Shabla on September 21 2009, is still missing, the Bulgarian news agency the BTA has reported, citing the local mayor Krassimir Krustev.
 
The incident occurred late in the afternoon – the local authorities reportedly received the distress signal at 5.10pm and frogmen were dispatched to the scene to search for the man.
 
According to Krustev, two men had gone out to sea with the fishing boat, but after the vessel capsized, only one of them managed to swim back to safety.
 
On the evening of September 21, the surf had increased significantly and the rescue operation had to be halted temporarily. The rescue operation is set to resume on September 22, according to Krustev.