On 5 September 2009, the ''Ilinden'' sightseeing boat with a group of 57 foreign tourists on board, of which 55 were

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n, sank in

Lake Ohrid Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Eu ...

, southwestern

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. Fifteen people died. The sinking of the ''Ilinden'' was the deadliest boat accident in the history of the Republic of Macedonia. Lake Ohrid is the deepest lake in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, with maximum depth of . The ''Ilinden'' boat was taking tourists to the Saint Naum Monastery. The boat, built in 1924, had a maximum capacity of 45 passengers. It sank within four minutes, some from the shore, in shallow waters. The boat is said to have sunk around 11:00 AM local time, in the vicinity of the Elešec camping site. Two other boats, the ''Alexandria'' and the ''Kristina'', were nearby and were able to assist the passengers of the ''Ilinden''. Most of the tourists on board were senior citizens, many of whom were unable to swim. Victims were from

Pirdop Pirdop ( bg, Пирдоп ) is a town located in South-West Bulgaria in Pirdop Municipality of Sofia Province in the southeastern part of the Zlatitsa - Pirdop Valley at 670 m above sea level. It is surrounded by the Balkan Range (also known as t ...

Zlatitsa Zlatitsa ( bg, Златица ) is a town and the seat of the Zlatitsa Municipality in southern Bulgaria located in the Zlatitsa-Pirdop valley. It lies between Stara Planina to the north and Sredna Gora to the south at above sea level. It is si ...

Chelopech Chelopech ( bg, Челопеч) is a village in the western part of Bulgaria. It is the only village in the '' Chelopech Municipality'', Sofia Province. Geographical outline The major railroad connecting Sofia and Burgas passes through the vi ...

and particularly

Anton Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

. The Republic of Macedonia's top officials visited the place of the accident.

Prime Minister of Bulgaria The prime minister of Bulgaria ( bg, Министър-председател, Ministar-predsedatel) is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament – known as the National Assemb ...

Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov ( bg, Бойко Методиев Борисов, ; born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the prime minister of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2013, 2014 to 2017, and 2017 to 2021, making him Bulgaria's secon ...

ordered that a Bulgarian government aeroplane bring the surviving Bulgarians back home. Another aeroplane, a

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force ( bg, Военновъздушни сили, Voennovazdushni sili) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and p ...

C-27J Spartan The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Leonardo's Aircraft Division (formerly Alenia Aermacchi until 2016). It is an advanced derivative of Alenia Aeronautica's earlier G.222 (C-27A Spartan in ...

, transported the corpses of Bulgarian victims. The Minister of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of Macedonia Mile Janakievski offered his resignation over the accident due to moral reasons, which was not accepted by Prime Minister

Nikola Gruevski Nikola Gruevski ( mk, Никола Груевски, pronounced ; hu, Nikola Gruevszki; born 31 August 1970) is a Macedonian politician who served as Prime Minister of Macedonia from 2006 until his resignation, which was caused by the 2016 Mac ...

. 6 September was declared a

national day of mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...

in the Republic of Macedonia. Similarly, 7 September was declared a national day of mourning in Bulgaria and all official events related to the celebration of the

Bulgarian unification The Unification of Bulgaria ( bg, Съединение на България, ''Saedinenie na Balgariya'') was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated ...

on 6 September were cancelled. A minute of silence was observed before Macedonia and Bulgaria's

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualifiers later on 5 September and against Scotland and Montenegro. A nongovernmental organization, the

Bulgarian Cultural Club – Skopje The Bulgarian Cultural Club – Skopje ( mk, Бугарски културен клуб – Скопје) is a non-governmental organization in the Republic of North Macedonia established on 4 May 2008, and registered on 22 May 2008. Its executive ...

proposed to Mayor Aleksandar Petreski of Ohrid the erection of a monument commemorating both the victims of the accident and those whose help saved many lives. In November 2020, a monument in

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

to the Bulgarian tourists that died on the ship Ilinden was vandalized and destroyed. On the 28th of November, the mayor of Ohrid, Konstantin Georgieski announced that the plaque had been replaced. Ilinden2016

References

{{coord, 41.083, 20.75, display=title Lake Ohrid boat accident Boat accident Boat accident Boat accident Deaths due to shipwreck Accidental deaths in North Macedonia September 2009 events in Europe