Bulgaria highway pile-ups kill 12, prime minister says
Rescue crews responded to collisions on the Trakia highway, while about 50 injured people were taken to hospitals and authorities closed the road.
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Rescue crews responded to collisions on the Trakia highway, while about 50 injured people were taken to hospitals and authorities closed the road.
Two pile-ups on Bulgaria’s Trakia highway killed 12 people, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. About 50 others were taken to hospital with injuries.
The collisions occurred near the Zimnitsa junction on 10 November, at about 07:00 local time (09:00 Yerevan time). Sliven regional governor Mihail Kasherov said more than 70 vehicles were involved. Health Minister Katya Ivkova said 11 people died at the scene and another died later in hospital.
BNR said the first collision alert came shortly after 07:00 local time (09:00 Yerevan time) on the carriageway toward Burgas, near kilometer 289. The other pile-up was near kilometer 294 on the Sofia-bound carriageway, just before Zimnitsa.
Interior Ministry general secretary Lyubomir Nikolov said fog was the likely cause. Officials said dense fog had reduced visibility before the first crash; an official also attributed the second likely to fog and said drivers were distracted by the first crash. Road administration director Galin Kostov said speeds were unsuitable for conditions that included wet roads. Witnesses and participants described dense fog and an icy road and attributed the collisions to those conditions.
Police, firefighters and medical crews were sent to the scene, and military personnel joined the rescue. Seriously injured people were admitted to hospitals in Yambol, Sliven and Burgas. Authorities dispatched 2 aircraft carrying medical teams and stretchers, but Yambol governor Georgi Chalakov said fog prevented helicopters from being used for evacuation.
Chief Inspector Todor Mishinev of the Yambol regional interior ministry directorate said people were still trapped in cars when he spoke. Sliven hospital director Vasislav Petrov said crews were struggling to reach victims, leaving their number and condition unclear at the time. Chalakov said rescuers had to remove sections of the crash barrier to reach people.
Diana Rusinova of the European Center for Transport Policies said children were among those trapped and crews were working to secure a propane-butane tanker. She urged travelers and people at the scene to remain calm and follow rescuers' instructions.
The highway was closed in both directions between Kabile and Zimnitsa. Kostov said it would remain closed until the vehicles were removed. Sliven police said traffic was diverted at Nova Zagora toward Sliven, Sliven Mineral Baths and the Sofia–Burgas sub-Balkan road. Traffic was also controlled at Petolachkata, with passage through Zimnitsa toward the highway barred.
Mishinev said rescue operations were the immediate priority and procedural and investigative work would follow their completion. Radev declared 11 November a day of national mourning.
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