At least eight people drowned Monday in southern Bulgaria after a dam broke following heavy rainfall, dpa quoted the national radio as reporting. The village of Biser was totally submerged, with four elderly men drowning. Nearby areas were also flooded when water from several reservoirs burst into nearby rivers and brooks after the dam collapsed. The Bulgarian military deployed helicopters to the stricken area to assist the population. The flooding came after a spell of bitterly cold weather and snowstorms that have killed dozens of people in the Balkans, including Bulgaria.