At least 11 people were killed, and dozens were injured after more than 70 vehicles collided on both sides of a highway in eastern Bulgaria on Tuesday as dense fog caused poor visibility. Several cars caught fire after the collision, triggering chaos on the road.
Police, firefighters and ambulance crews rushed to the highway located near the city of Yambol that connected the capital Sofia with the eastern city of Burgas. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told reporters that 11 people were dead and nearly 50 others were injured.
who was visiting Bulgaria as part of a tour of the Black Sea region, Radev described the incident as a “tragedy”, saying that he had deployed aircraft to evacuate the wounded and revealed plans to visit the scene While speaking alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen also cut her trip short, saying, “I would like to express my deepest condolences and I would like to pay respects to the rescue teams. Another person escaped death by getting out moments before more cars collided with their vehicle. The accident started with a collision between a bus and a truck on the side of the highway heading towards Burgas.
Novinite quoted one eyewitness saying that visibility was down to just 30 metres at the time of the collision. Because of the crashes, he also cancelled his engagements in Varna.
A man managed to rescue another person from a burning vehicle by smashing the window with a car jack, according to local reports. The two pile-ups happened a few kilometres apart near the Zimnitsa junction, one on the Burgas-bound carriageway and the other heading towards Sofia, according to the Novinite news outlet. Lyubomir Nikolov, the acting chief secretary of Bulgaria’s interior ministry, also said the dense fog was the likely cause of the accident. Regional Road Administration Director Galin Kostov also cited the wet road surface and speeds unsuitable for the conditions, according to BTA News.
