Bulgaria Raises Trakia Motorway Pile-Up Death Toll to 12

Bulgaria’s Health Ministry put the death toll from the November 10 crashes on the Trakia motorway at 12 in its 15:00 local-time update. It said 51 people had been admitted to hospitals, including 13 with serious injuries. The Interior Ministry said the pile-ups involved 86 vehicles on the two carriageways. The hospital admissions comprised 33 people in Sliven, 11 in Yambol and seven in Burgas, according to the Health Ministry. The Interior Ministry’s earlier account said the first emergency report came shortly after 07:00. Deputy Interior Minister Kaloyan Kaloyanov said 63 vehicles were involved on the carriageway toward Burgas and 23 on the side toward Sofia. “A likely cause of the serious incident was sudden, dense fog,” the Interior Ministry said. Acting Chief Secretary Lyubomir Nikolov described a collision sequence involving a passenger bus, trucks and a car on the Burgas-bound side. Witnesses described visibility falling from about 70–80 metres to 10 metres. The ministry said hundreds of police officers, rescue teams and ambulances responded, alongside 15 fire engines, with personnel brought in from Yambol and neighbouring regions. Two pretrial proceedings were opened because crashes occurred in both directions. Yambol District Prosecutor Doychin Doychev said the case would be assigned to the National Investigation Service because of its exceptional seriousness. Investigators’ next steps included examining the scenes, questioning witnesses and analysing the initial evidence before deciding which expert examinations to commission.