The key facts

  • On 10 November, two mass crashes involving 86 vehicles occurred on Bulgaria's Trakia motorway
  • 11 people were killed and 48 injured
  • Bulgaria's Interior Ministry cites sudden dense fog as the likely cause; the National Investigation Service is conducting the investigation

Two major crashes on the Trakia motorway

On 10 November, two major crashes occurred on Bulgaria's Trakia motorway near Yambol, in which, according to the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), a total of 86 vehicles were involved. According to the latest figures, 11 people were killed and 48 more were injured.

Interior Ministry's version: sudden fog

Bulgaria's acting Interior Minister's secretary general, Lyubomir Nikolov, said that, according to preliminary data, the crashes were caused by reduced visibility due to dense fog. The first crash occurred on the lanes heading towards Burgas, where a truck blocked the path of a bus. 'Then a truck carrying wheat was involved in the crash, after which a passenger car rammed into the rear of that truck. All the fatalities we reported were on the lanes heading towards Burgas; the cause may have been dense fog that descended suddenly,' Gazeta.uz quoted him as saying, citing BTA.

Visibility dropped from 70–80 to 10 metres

According to the Interior Ministry representative, witnesses said visibility on the road was about 70–80 metres, but at the crash site it suddenly dropped to roughly 10 metres. The second crash occurred on the lanes heading towards Sofia; its cause, in all likelihood, was also fog. In addition, Nikolov suggested that the first crash may have distracted drivers' attention. He promised that all circumstances of the incident would be thoroughly examined, and the investigation into the crashes has been handed over to the National Investigation Service.