Fog pileups on Bulgaria Trakia motorway kill 12, health minister says

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Two pileups on both carriageways of Bulgaria's Trakia (A1) motorway near Yambol killed 12 people on Tuesday, Nov 10, Health Minister Katya Ivkova said, Deutsche Welle reports. Ivkova said 10 people died at the scene and two died while being transported to a hospital. An AP article on the crashes, Cloudflare-blocked from this host, reports at least 12 dead and attributes that figure to a government minister.

Earlier accounts put the death toll at 11. BBC quoted Ivkova as saying 10 people died at the scene, near the town of Zimnitsa, and one more in hospital. Reuters, opened via an Internazionale reprint, quotes Prime Minister Rumen Radev saying 11 people died.

Ivkova said 46 people were injured and taken to medical facilities, DW and BBC, citing the BTA state news agency, report. The interior ministry said 50 injured people were transported to hospital, Reuters reports. The first reports came in at 7:10 a.m. local time, Yambol regional governor Georgi Chalakov said, according to BBC.

Officials gave differing vehicle counts. Chalakov estimated 50 cars and trucks, DW reports. Sliven regional governor Mihail Kasherov told journalists that more than 70 vehicles were involved, BBC reports.

Interior ministry general secretary Lyubomir Nikolov said fog was the likely cause and that the accident started with a collision between a bus and a truck on the Burgas-bound side, DW and Reuters report. Officials have said dense fog reduced visibility and was the likely cause of the first crash, on the eastbound carriageway, BBC reports, and that the second, Sofia-bound pileup was also likely caused by the fog, with drivers also distracted by the first crash. Road administration director Galin Kostov cited wet road surfaces and speeds unsuitable for the conditions and said the motorway would remain closed until it had been cleared, BBC reports, citing BTA. These remain official assessments of the likely cause, not a final determination.