Bulgaria pile-ups kill at least 11 as 86 vehicles crash on Trakia
The two crashes involved 86 vehicles near Yambol, and 46 people were taken to medical facilities.
Two fog-linked pile-ups on Bulgaria's Trakia motorway near Yambol killed at least 11 people and injured dozens Tuesday, officials said, and the road was closed in both directions.
The crashes involved 86 vehicles near the Zimnitsa junction, many of them heavy trucks, the Interior Ministry said. Health Minister Katya Ivkova said 46 people were taken to medical facilities for treatment.
Ivkova said 10 people died at the scene, though the final toll was not immediately clear. The Associated Press and Deutsche Welle quoted her as saying two more died on the way to hospital, making the toll at least 12. The BBC quoted her as saying one person died in hospital, bringing the total to 11.
The pile-ups occurred at the same spot on opposite carriageways of the motorway, which runs between Sofia and the Black Sea port of Burgas. Yambol Regional Governor Georgi Chalakov said the first report came at 7:10 a.m. local time.
Rescuers had to take out sections of crash barrier to get to the injured, Chalakov said, while fog initially prevented helicopter evacuation. The injured went to hospitals in the Yambol, Sliven and Burgas regions, he said.
Sliven Regional Governor Mihail Kasherov told reporters at the scene that it defied description and that he had never seen anything like it.
"As for me, there were four cars behind me - trucks - and I don't know how I got out or what happened, but in the end, thank God I'm still alive," a witness told Reuters.
Police opened an investigation and said their initial assessments pointed to "reduced visibility due to fast-forming dense fog, wet road surface and speeds unsuitable for the conditions." Regional Road Administration Director Galin Kostov also cited the wet surface and speeds unsuitable for the conditions.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev left a news conference early to go to the scene, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had to change her schedule during a working visit to Bulgaria. President Iliana Yotova cut short her participation in the Paris Peace Forum to return to Bulgaria, her press office said.
European Commission figures show Bulgaria had 71 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2025, the highest rate in the European Union, compared with an EU average of 43.
Chief Inspector Todor Mishinev of the Yambol regional police told Nova TV that people remained trapped in their cars. "Right now, the priority is rescue operations. Once they are completed, the procedural and investigative actions will be carried out," he said.
