Yambol Fog Pileups on Trakia Motorway Kill at Least 11
Dozens of vehicles were caught up in two chain-reaction crashes near the Zimnitsa interchange in southeastern Bulgaria. The motorway is closed both ways, and the toll shifted through the day.
Two chain-reaction crashes on the Trakia motorway in southeastern Bulgaria have killed at least 11 people and injured about 50. The crashes happened this morning, November 10, around 7 a.m. local time, near the Zimnitsa interchange in the Yambol region, in dense fog. The motorway is closed in both directions.
What happened at kilometers 289 and 294?
The first crash was recorded around kilometer 289, on the carriageway toward Burgas. The second came around kilometer 294, toward Sofia. Yambol authorities received the first call at 7:10 a.m.
Lyubomir Nikolov, acting secretary general of Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry, described how the first crash unfolded. According to him, a truck blocked the road for a passenger bus. A truck loaded with wheat was also involved behind the bus, and a car slammed into the rear of that truck. Nikolov said all the dead were on the Burgas-bound carriageway.
He estimated that the second crash, toward Sofia, happened the same way. Drivers probably looked at the accident beside them, which would explain why both took place at the same spot.
The Bulgarian news agency BTA reported from the scene that mangled cars and trucks were strewn along about a kilometer of motorway. The vehicles included cars, vans, buses, trucks and tankers.
How many people died or were injured?
The figures differ from source to source. BTA reported 11 dead: ten died at the scene and one person died in hospital in Yambol. Telegram.hr puts the toll at 12, saying another injured person died later. Prime Minister Rumen Radev earlier told reporters:
“There are currently 11 dead and 48 injured.”
The number of injured is not settled either:
- At 11:30 a.m. the Health Ministry had 46 people in hospitals: 18 at the Dr. Ivan Seliminski hospital in Sliven, 9 at the Military Medical Academy hospital in Sliven, 12 at St. Panteleimon hospital in Yambol and 7 in two hospitals in Burgas.
- Deputy Interior Minister Kaloyan Kaloyanov gave 28 injured in the Sliven region, 16 in Yambol and 6 in Burgas.
- Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry, according to Telegram.hr, speaks of 50 injured taken to hospitals.
The number of vehicles also depends on the source. Sliven regional governor Mihail Kashev spoke of more than 70, Informer of more than 50, and Bulgarian media later reported, without official confirmation, 86 vehicles. Nikolov added that there are no children among the dead and injured.
Why did the crashes happen?
Officials point to fog that came down suddenly. Nikolov and Galin Kostov, head of the regional road authority, also cited a wet road surface and speed unsuited to conditions. Police said, according to the Bulgarian portal Sega.bg, that visibility at times dropped to about ten meters. Nikolov also relayed witness accounts that visibility was at first 70 to 80 meters, then fell abruptly to ten.
The investigation is only beginning. “The whole incident will be examined in detail,” Nikolov said, adding that better marking of fog-prone stretches will be considered.
Rescue and state of emergency
Yambol regional governor Georgi Chalakov declared a partial state of emergency in the municipalities of Straldzha, Tundzha and Yambol. The decision took effect at 7:30 a.m., and the operation is led by Commissioner Ivan Dinev, head of the Regional Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection in Yambol. Rescuers cut through sheet metal to free those trapped, and more than 20 soldiers of the 42nd Mechanized Battalion from Yambol helped. Chalakov said sections of the guardrail had to be removed to reach the injured, and that helicopter transport was initially impossible because of the fog. According to him, there were no reports of a vehicle catching fire, while Informer says several vehicles were seen burning.
Todor Mishinev, chief inspector at the Interior Ministry’s regional directorate in Yambol, told Nova television:
“The priority right now is the rescue operation.”
Health Minister Katya Ivkova said: “We are ready to save as many lives as possible.” Four of the injured were in intensive care at the Seliminski hospital, which suspended operations to free up staff and resources. Three patients in very serious condition were to be flown by helicopter to Burgas airport, from where a military Spartan aircraft would continue the journey. Hospitals in Sofia, Plovdiv, Haskovo and Stara Zagora were on standby.
What about traffic and reactions?
The Road Infrastructure Agency expects the motorway to stay closed for a longer period because of the number of trucks and the investigation. Traffic toward Sofia has been diverted via Karnobat and Sliven toward Krushare and Hadzhidimitrovo, and toward Burgas via Gorno Aleksandrovo, Zimnitsa and Karnobat. The BG-ALERT system warned residents on the stretch from Nova Zagora to Hadzhidimitrovo.
Radev canceled his program in Varna and sent a government plane to Burgas to transport the injured to Sofia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen cut short her visit to Bulgaria. “I want to express my deepest condolences and pay tribute to the rescue teams,” she said.
None of the sources we reviewed says that Serbian citizens are among the dead or injured. Serbia’s Foreign Ministry had said nothing on the matter by the time of publication.
