The bus full of tourists were returning from a trip to Turkey
46 people have died in a horrific bus crash in Bulgaria after the vehicle ploughed into crash barriers and exploded. Twelve children are believed to be among the dead.
The bus, reported to be full of North Macedonian tourists returning from a trip to Turkey, caught fire on the motorway around 2am on Tuesday morning.
Bulgarian officials have stated that the bus appears to have collided with a motorway barrier either before or after it caught on fire.
Dozens killed in Bulgaria bus fire https://t.co/Py0bnbHAJe
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 23, 2021
While seven of the 52 passengers were pulled from the wreckage were thought to have non-life-threatening injuries – taken to a hospital in the nation’s capital, Sofia – at least 46 people are believed to have died in the blaze.
Bulgaria’s Interior Minister, Boyko Rashkov, visited the scene in the early hours and said the bodies of the dead had “completely burned out” by the intensity of the fire.
At least 45 people were killed in a bus crash in #Bulgaria early Tuesday.
The cause of the crash was not immediately confirmed but it appears the bus hit a highway guard rail, crashed and caught fire https://t.co/jCO5pr6vBO pic.twitter.com/s2i89118ZA
— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) November 23, 2021
According to national network bTV, the bus was travelling from Istanbul‘s to Skopje in North Macedonia and the bus itself was registered as a Macedonian vehicle.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen expressed her sympathies to the crash victims’ families.
“My deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who perished in the tragic bus accident last night in Bulgaria,” she wrote.
“I also wish a fast recovery to those injured.
“In these terrible times, Europe stands in solidarity with you.”
My deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who perished in the tragic bus accident last night in Bulgaria.
I also wish a fast recovery to those injured.
In these terrible times, Europe stands in solidarity with you.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 23, 2021
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