Cars And Trucks Piled Up Across Six Lanes: 11 Dead, 50 Injured In Bulgaria Highway Crash

The accident occurred on the A1 motorway, which connects the capital Sofia with the eastern city of Burgas. Police, firefighters and ambulance teams rushed to the spot as cars and trucks collided across both sides of the highway.

Images from the scene near Yambol showed vehicles piled up across six lanes, with several cars and trucks crushed, overturned or thrown off the road.

According to Bulgaria's Interior Ministry, 50 injured people were taken to hospital.

Fog Suspected To Have Caused Multi-Vehicle Pile-Up

Briefing reporters at the accident site, Lyubomir Nikolov, General Secretary of the Interior Ministry, said fog was the likely cause of the pile-up. He said the accident began with a collision between a bus and a truck on the carriageway heading towards Burgas, Reuters reported.

Chief Inspector Todor Mishinev of the Yambol Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Nova TV that some people remained trapped inside their vehicles.

"Right now, the priority is rescue operations. Once they are completed, the procedural and investigative actions will be carried out," he said.

Bulgarian PM Calls Accident A 'Tragedy'

Radev described the incident as a "tragedy" in a statement issued during European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's visit to Bulgaria. He said he had deployed aircraft to evacuate the injured and planned to visit the accident site.

Von der Leyen said she would cut short her visit following the accident.

"I would like to express my deepest condolences and I would like to pay respects to the rescue teams," she said.