At Least 11 Dead After Fog-Caused Pile-Ups on Bulgaria’s Trakia Motorway

Bulgaria motorway pile-ups fog deaths, Digi Mart USA News (Trakia motorway, south-eastern Bulgaria): At least 11 people have been killed after dozens of cars and lorries were involved in two pile-ups on the Trakia motorway in south-eastern Bulgaria, according to the publisher report.

Health Minister Katya Ivkova said 10 people died at the scene, near the town of Zimnitsa, and one more died in hospital. A further 46 people were injured, the BTA state news agency reported.

Sliven region governor Mihail Kasherov told journalists at the scene that more than 70 vehicles were involved.

Officials said dense fog reduced visibility and was the likely cause of the first crash, which occurred on the eastbound carriageway. The second crash, on the Sofia-bound carriageway, was also likely caused by the fog, with drivers also distracted by the first crash, BTA reported an official as saying.

Road administration director Galin Kostov said speeds were unsuitable for the conditions, which included wet road surfaces, and that the motorway would remain closed until it had been cleared, BTA reported. The Trakia motorway runs west to east across Bulgaria and cuts through the capital, Sofia.

Yambol regional governor Georgi Chalakov said reports first came in at 07:10 local time (05:10 GMT), and the injured were taken by ambulance to hospitals in the Yambol, Sliven and Burgas regions. Chalakov told BTA that rescue teams had to remove sections of the crash barrier to reach people, and that fog prevented helicopters from being used in evacuation efforts.

One witness who helped rescue a man from a burning vehicle blamed “very thick fog” for the pile-up. “I got out of the car, I ran forward and pulled that man out,” the witness told Reuters.

Another told Reuters that “many, many people died.” That witness said four trucks were behind their vehicle and that they did not know how they escaped.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who had been hosting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, cut short a news conference following the news.