A bus carrying passengers from Istanbul, Turkey, to North Macedonia crashed and caught fire in Bulgaria Tuesday morning. At least 45 people are dead and seven injured, according to authorities.
Lubomir Jovevski, North Macedonia’s chief prosecutor, visited the scene and said 12 children are among the dead. The cause of the accident has not been confirmed; however, it appears the bus hit a guard rail, causing it to crash and catch fire, according to the Associated Press. It was one of four buses traveling together.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov visited the site Tuesday morning and said he had never seen anything as horrifying.
US PARATROOPERS ACCIDENTALLY ENTER CIVILIAN BUSINESS IN BULGARIA DURING TRAINING EXERCISE
“The picture is horrifying, the people who were on the bus are turned to charcoal,” Rashkov told local reporters. “It is impossible to say how many they were. There were four buses that traveled together, and it is possible that passengers changed buses during the stops.”
Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev also visited the site and called the incident a tragedy.
“I take this opportunity to send my condolences to the relatives of the victims,” Yanev said. “Let’s hope we learn lessons from this tragic incident, and we can prevent such incidents in the future.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Bulgaria had the second-highest national road fatality rate in 2019 among European Union nations with 89 victims per million people, according to the Associated Press.
An investigation into the crash is underway.
