Two Bulgarian construction workers are confirmed to have died in a collapsed building in Prague, one of whom comes from Plovdiv, a Bulgarian National Radio correspondent told Czech media on October 5 2009.

The two men, both aged in their 40s, were not carrying identity cards at the time of the tragic accident on October 2, so impairing the work of the authorities once the bodies were retrieved. They were subsequently confirmed as Bulgarian nationals on October 5.

The third deceased is a Ukrainian citizen, confirmed on October 4 by the Ukrainian embassy in Prague. The fourth person who died in the collapse, also believed to be from Ukraine, is to be identified on October 5 by Prague police following an autopsy.

Earlier on October 5, Foreign Minister Rumiana Zheleva had told Bulgarian Nova television channel that for the moment it was only speculation that Bulgarians had been killed in the accident but there was no concrete confirmation.

Meanwhile, Czech authorities are continuing to investigate the accident. Should construction company Sting Prague be found liable, heavy fines and even prison sentences, ranging from three to 10 years, could be handed out to those responsible.

The building in central Prague collapsed when it was undergoing reconstruction work, trapping workers in the rubble. Rescue units were deployed to the scene but the effort to extract the four bodies lasted more than 36 hours because of frequent delays due to the danger of additional structural collapse.

According to reports from the Czech authorities, cited by Bulgarian media, the building and refurbishment works seriously violated safety requirements, the responsibility for which lies with construction company Sting Prague.