Bulgaria Highway Crash Kills At Least 12 in Foggy Pileup
A series of collisions involving a bus and truck on the A1 highway near Yambol resulted in significant casualties and major rescue efforts.
By Khalid Khalil ·
At least twelve people lost their lives and dozens more were injured in a severe traffic incident on Tuesday. The disaster occurred on the A1 highway in southeastern Bulgaria, where a collision between a bus and a truck triggered a chain reaction of crashes on both sides of the road, according to Bulgarian authorities.
Lyubomir Nikolov, the general secretary of the interior ministry, addressed reporters at the scene of the accident. He indicated that heavy fog was likely the primary cause of the event. The poor visibility appears to have contributed to the severity of the collisions, leading to a complex and dangerous situation for emergency responders.
Georgi Chalakov, the regional governor of Yambol, provided an estimate of the scale of the incident. He stated that approximately fifty cars and trucks were involved in the pileup. The sheer number of vehicles involved made the rescue operations particularly challenging for the teams on the ground.
Katya Ivkova, the Health Minister, detailed the medical outcomes of the crash. She reported that ten individuals died at the scene, while two others succumbed to their injuries during transport to medical facilities. Additionally, forty-six people were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment. The high number of casualties placed a significant strain on local medical resources.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev was in the process of welcoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen when the news broke. The Prime Minister cleared his schedule for the remainder of the day to address the crisis. In response, von der Leyen announced that she would shorten her official visit to the country to show solidarity and allow for more immediate attention to the situation.
Emergency services, including police, firefighters, and paramedics, were quickly dispatched to the A1 highway. This major route connects the capital, Sofia, to the Black Sea port city of Burgas. Chief Inspector Todor Mishinev from the Yambol Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Nova TV that people were still trapped inside their vehicles at the time of his report.
Mishinev emphasized that the immediate priority was the rescue of those trapped. He noted that procedural and investigative actions would follow once the rescue operations were completed. The focus remained entirely on saving lives in the initial hours following the crash.
Authorities organized the transport of the injured to hospitals in nearby cities. To assist with the medical response, two aircraft carrying medical teams and stretcher equipment were dispatched to the area. This aerial support was crucial for managing the high volume of casualties and providing timely care.
The incident highlights a broader concern regarding road safety in the region. According to European Commission figures, Bulgaria recorded seventy-one road fatalities per million inhabitants in 2025. This rate was the highest in the European Union, significantly exceeding the EU average of forty-three per million.
Victims and experts have long pointed to factors such as reckless driving, neglected road infrastructure, and an inefficient justice system as contributors to the country's high number of fatal traffic accidents. The recent tragedy is expected to reignite these debates and potentially lead to new safety measures.
