Two customs officers who allowed the bus of “Besa Trans” to pass without documentation

The Northern Macedonia Transport Ministry has taken the license to transport passengers to the agency “Bese Trans” after a bus caused its tragic accident on 23 November in Bulgaria, where at least 45 people died, while seven others suffered bodily injuries.

The Ministry of Transport has found that the bus did not own permission for international transport.

“Based in Article 12 of the Law for Transport of Travelers, Data Security from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and with the aim of preventing any other kind of work on the part of the company, with consequences for passengers, company Wisshe Trans BTB's license is prohibited, respectively, the transportation activity of the passenger” is said at the Transport Ministry's announcement.

Meanwhile, the North Macedonia Customs Directorate has announced the suspension of two customs officers, who by November 19th have allowed the bus to cross the border of northern Macedonia without documentation needed for passenger transport. Disciplinary measures have also been taken against the responsibility of the customs tour.

The directorate, too, has announced that the same bus without permission for transport has crossed Macedonia's other borders, but has not announced whether additional concessions will be taken.

The same company's <x)autobus, the company's Trust Transé in the period from October 15th 2020 to November 11, 2021, is estimated to have crossed many border points, such as the Deve Bair and Dellcheva with Bulgaria, in Blace with Kosovo, Qafathetane with Albania”, said in the North Macedonia Customs Report.

The accident occurred on Struma Highway about 45 km west of Sofia.

The deputy prosecutor, jointly director of the National Investigative Service in Bulgaria, Borislav Sarafov, has declared in Sofia on November 25th that human error is the main suspicion believed to have caused the bus accident. He has added that at the site of the accident, the bodies of 44 people have survived, while another turns missing.

No other vehicles were involved in this accident. There are at least 12 children among the victims. Most of the travelers were tourists returning from a trip to Istanbul, Turkey. / REL