At least 11 people have been killed and 50 others injured in a major multi-vehicle collision on Bulgaria’s A1 motorway in the eastern part of the country on Tuesday, after dense fog severely reduced visibility.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev confirmed the death toll, while the Interior Ministry said that 50 injured people had been urgently transported to hospitals for medical treatment.
The accident involved dozens of vehicles on both sides of the motorway connecting Sofia and Burgas, prompting a large-scale emergency response involving police officers, firefighters and ambulance teams.
Footage from local media showed a devastating scene, with cars and trucks crushed, overturned and piled up across six lanes of the motorway.
Prime Minister Radev described the incident as a “tragedy” and announced that aircraft had also been deployed to help evacuate the injured.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was visiting Bulgaria at the time, expressed her deepest condolences to the victims and announced that she was cutting short her visit following the disaster.
According to preliminary findings, Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry Secretary-General Lyubomir Nikolov said dense fog was suspected to have been the main cause of the accident.
Initial accounts from the scene suggest that the chain collision began with an initial crash involving a bus and a truck.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident.
