The bus ran into a ditch and tipped over early on Sunday (August 16, 2026) near the town of Mezokeresztes in eastern Hungary, police said, adding that the bus was heading towards the city of Nyiregyhaza on the motorway when the accident happened.
Twelve people lost their lives and several others were injured in the accident, police said, adding that they were taking the bus driver into custody. “A Polish-registered bus travelling on the M3 motorway towards Nyiregyhaza … veered off the straight stretch of road into a ditch and overturned.
Preliminary information suggests the driver likely fell asleep,” police said on their website. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said on X: “It is with deep sorrow that I received the tragic news of the Polish bus accident in Hungary, in which so many of our compatriots died. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X that a “tragic accident” involving a bus carrying Polish tourists happened in Hungary.
