Bulgarians walked on Smith Island in Antarctica for the first time, according to the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Within a very short window of auspicious weather, on January 10 the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) sailed over to Smith Island, its crew planning to go on shore and survey the place to assess its scientific research potential.

At 2:30pm local time, in an inlet close to the northeastern tip of the island, two boats reached the stony shore. The arriving group of naval personnel, accompanied by Lyubomir Ivanov of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, became the first Bulgarians to set foot on this piece of land.

Smith Island has a very complicated history and geography. There were only two or three documented prior visits there. The highest peak on the island towers at 2,105 metres above sea level.

After the surveillance party completes its job, a larger group of scientists (geologists, seismologists and bioloists) will make another visit to collect test samples from this unexplored island.