At least 11 people have been killed and 50 others injured in a massive multi-vehicle collision on a motorway in eastern Bulgaria, after dozens of cars and trucks crashed on a fog-covered stretch of road. Emergency services rushed to the scene as rescue operations continued amid reports that several people remained trapped inside damaged vehicles.
Dozens of Vehicles Involved in Bulgarian Motorway Crash
The accident occurred on Tuesday, November 10, on the A1 motorway, which connects Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, with the eastern coastal city of Burgas.
According to Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, 11 people lost their lives in the incident, while the Interior Ministry confirmed that 50 injured people had been transported to hospitals.
The scale of the collision was evident in images broadcast by local media, showing cars and heavy vehicles piled across six lanes of the motorway. Several vehicles were crushed, overturned or pushed off the road following the chain-reaction crashes.
Police officers, firefighters and ambulance crews were deployed to the area to assist victims and coordinate rescue operations.
Dense Fog Suspected as Cause of Collision
Bulgarian Interior Ministry General Secretary Lyubomir Nikolov said dense fog was considered the likely cause of the accident.
According to his initial account, the chain of collisions began when a bus and a truck crashed on the section of motorway heading towards Burgas. The incident subsequently involved numerous other vehicles travelling along both sides of the highway.
However, authorities had not completed their investigation, and the exact circumstances surrounding the multiple collisions remained unclear.
Chief Inspector Todor Mishinev of the Yambol Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Bulgarian broadcaster Nova TV that some people were still trapped inside their vehicles.
He said rescue operations were the immediate priority and that formal investigative procedures would begin after emergency teams had completed their work.
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Prime Minister Orders Aircraft to Evacuate Injured
Prime Minister Rumen Radev described the incident as a tragedy and announced additional emergency measures to support the injured.
He said aircraft had been deployed to help evacuate victims and that he intended to visit the accident site to assess the situation.
The government coordinated its response as emergency personnel worked to reach people trapped in the wreckage and transport injured victims to medical facilities.
The scale of the disaster also prompted changes to the programme of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was visiting Bulgaria at the time.
European Commission President Expresses Condolences
Von der Leyen expressed sympathy for the families of those killed and offered support to the emergency personnel responding to the disaster.
She announced that she would shorten her visit to Bulgaria to pay her respects and acknowledge the work of rescue teams.
The accident has highlighted the dangers of driving in conditions of severely reduced visibility, particularly on busy motorways where sudden collisions can quickly develop into large-scale pile-ups.
Authorities were expected to establish the precise cause of the disaster after rescue operations were completed.
The casualty figures and details in this report are based on the information published by Reuters on November 10, 2026.
Source: Reuters, as published by The Express Tribune.
