Bulgaria activates national counter-terrorism plan: Deputy PM

Bulgaria has activated its national counter-terrorism plan immediately after receiving information about the blasts in Brussels, the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Rumiana Bachvarova said here on Tuesday.

There is currently no information about any direct threat to Bulgaria but the country has taken necessary preventive measures, Bachvarova said at a press conference.

The country raised the level of security in all national transport facilities including airports, railway stations and ports, as well as metro stations in Sofia, she said.

Meanwhile, the authorities conducted security checks on key sites in the capital and enhanced border control, Bachvarova said.

Later on Tuesday, the authorities will conduct a large scale anti-terrorism drill in Sofia.

"It was planned two months ago to check the readiness to respond to an emergency situation, and unfortunately coincided with today," she said.

Speaking about the explosions in Brussels, Bachvarova said that the situation is highly alarming, and the danger is high for all European countries.

Bulgaria considered the attacks near the European institutions as a clear provocation to European security, the official said.

The number of people killed in the Brussels subway train explosion on Tuesday now stands at 20, with another 106 passengers injured, the city's mayor Yvan Mayeur told a press conference.

Among the dead, 14 were killed in a suicide attack at Brussels national airport, Belgian public broadcaster RTBF said. Endit