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A hospital official in the northeastern town of Shumen confirmed Damyanov’s death and said the cause would only be known after an autopsy.

Shumen has a centuries-old Muslim community and Muslims make up about 12 percent of Bulgaria's population of 7.2 million, but in September the government banned wearing face veils in public.

Maedeh Borhani, 28, and team captain Zeinab Giveh, 34, arrived in the northeastern town of Shumen amid a rising tide of nationalism, sparked by huge migrant inflows to Europe over the past two years, with Bulgaria being a popular transit routes.

Borhani also said that the move to Shumen could also perhaps open a new frontier for Iranian women athletes to move abroad.

Iran's first two women volleyball players to compete outside the Islamic Republic joined Bulgarian club Shumen this month, a move which has taken years of negotiation with Iranian authorities and which could help break down some gender barriers at home.