Civil defence and fire brigade rescue teams were sent to the aid of a southern Bulgarian village that flooded on February 6 2012 after a dam wall ruptured under pressure from heavy rain and snow pressure.
 
Houses were flooded in the village of Biser, in the Harmanli area. Prime Minister Boiko Borissov was reported to be on his way to the village to assess the situation.
 
An air force helicopter had been sent to rescue people from flooded houses, Bulgarian National Television said.
 
Earlier, a Code Red weather warning was declared in the regions of Smolyan and Kurdjali because of the combined hazards of heavy rain and runoff from previous serious snowfall.
 
Code Orange was declared in nine other districts: Vidin, Montana, Vratsa, Sofia and Sofia District, Pernik, Kyustendil, Pazardjik and Blagoevgrad.
 
In the early morning of February 6, the engine of the Belgrade – Istanbul international passenger train was derailed by a landslide. None of the passengers was injured, Bulgarian news agency BTA said.
 
Bulgarian state railways BDZ said that from 8.30am on February 6, the movement of trains between the railway stations at the towns of Dimitrovgrad and Svilengrad was suspended, after the Maritsa River burst its banks.
 
The Istanbul – Belgrade international express was being held at Svilengrad railway station while its counterpart Belgrade – Istanbul express was halted in the Nova Nadezhda – Simeonovgrad area, BDZ said.
 
The road between the Rhodope villages of Stoikovo and Bragovo was reported to be flooded.
 
On the early morning of February 6, seven flights to European destinations from Sofia Airport were cancelled, Bulgarian National Television said. Cancellations included departures to Frankfurt, Budapest and Brussels. Other flights were delayed, reports said.
 
Sofia municipality said that while the Bulgarian capital city had seen heavy snowfall, all main roads had been cleaned.
 
In the municipality of Karlovo, schools were closed on February 6 because of the severe winter weather.