(BTA photo)
SOFIA, Bulgaria – Yet another group of the 32nd National Antarctic Expedition took an ITA Airways flight on Jan. 7 from Sofia Airport for Rome en route to Buenos Aires, Rio Gallegos, Punta Arenas, King George Island and Livingston Island.
The group consists of Assoc. Prof. Boris Tzankov, a consultant on a new water and sewerage line in the area of the Bulgarian Antarctic Base, logistician Oleg Vassilev, BTA journalist Emil Granicharov, cook Ivaylo Yankov, mechanic Milcho Dundakov, geologist Ralitsa Sabeva, marine biologist Tihomir Stefanov and physicist Tsvetan Parov.
At Punta Arenas, the group will be joined by Mark Irvine from the UK, who will work at the Bulgarian Base on a Silicones Europe project.
From the Chilean port of Punta Arenas, located north of the Strait of Magellan, the group will fly on Jan. 11 to King George Island, adjacent to Livingston Island where the Bulgarian Antarctic Base is located.
The aircraft is chartered by the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI). For the last stretch between the two islands, the group will board the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii, which is participating in the expedition.
The group is expected to arrive at the Bulgarian Base around Jan. 12-13 and to begin work, said Prof. Hristo Pimpirev, head of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute.
“Everything is normal at the base and the Bulgarian flag gas been raised. I am glad that the unloading of the ship is progressing at full speed. It was delayed for a while because of an icy soup near the shore but now everything is back to normal.”
Pimpirev recalled that the base was unveiled more than 30 years ago.
The next group of expedition members will depart on Jan. 26.
It will include Prof. Pimpirev and another five people.
BTA’s Emil Granicharov will document the work of the researchers in video diaries. (BTA)
