Man seriously injured in fire at Varna mosque
A 90-year-old caretaker was reported to be in critical condition in hospital after a fire at a mosque in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Varna in the early hours of February 20 2015.
Three fire engines responded to the fire, which was reported at 6.30am and which was extinguished within two hours.
Investigations into the cause were proceeding, with media reports from the city said that the cause was believed to be a solid fuel stove. The head of the regional fire and emergency safety directorate, Tihomir Totev, said that there was no information that the fire had been set deliberately.
Initial reports that the injured man was the mosque’s imam proved inaccurate.
The head of the Interior Ministry regional directorate, Nikolai Kalchev, said that the injured man was being treated at the toxicology unit of the Naval Hospital and was in critical condition.
The man was found unconscious inside the mosque after firefighters broke down the doors to gain access.
Two side rooms in the mosque burnt in the fire, and the main part of the mosque, where prayer services are held, was not damaged, reports said.
Local media said that on December 19 2013, part of the roof of the mosque was damaged in a fire.
