Fog pile-ups on Bulgaria's Trakia motorway kill 12 and injure about 50; day of mourning declared

Two serious pile-ups in dense fog on the Trakia motorway (A1) in eastern Bulgaria on Tuesday morning, November 10, involved 86 vehicles and killed at least 12 people and injured about 50. The Bulgarian government has declared Wednesday, November 11, a national day of mourning.

Two pile-ups hundreds of metres apart closed both carriageways

According to Bulgarian Interior Ministry officials, the first crash happened at about 7:10 a.m. local time near the Zimnitsa junction outside Yambol, on the carriageway towards Burgas, when a minibus collided with a lorry; shortly afterwards a second pile-up followed on the opposite, Sofia-bound carriageway at kilometre 294. The two crashes involved 86 vehicles in total, including several heavy trucks and a bus. The motorway was closed in both directions, and a partial state of emergency was declared in the municipalities of Yambol, Tundzha and Straldzha.

Death toll revised upward repeatedly during the day

The casualty figures were revised several times over a few hours: local authorities first reported five dead, then 10, and Prime Minister Rumen Radev at one point spoke of 11 dead. Health Minister Katya Ivkova later confirmed to the Associated Press that 10 people died at the scene and two more died on the way to hospital, making 12 dead in total, with 46 people taken for treatment. The health ministry later updated the number of injured to 51, 13 of them in critical condition. The identities of the dead have not been released.

Day of mourning; prime minister heads to the scene

Radev declared November 11 a national day of mourning and travelled to the crash site. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, on a working visit to Bulgaria, changed her schedule, and President Iliana Yotova cut short her participation in the Paris Peace Forum to return home. A Yambol regional official told reporters at the scene that the scene defied description and that he had never seen anything like it.

Initial assessment: fog, wet road and unsuitable speed

Police have opened an investigation. Their initial assessment points to reduced visibility from fast-forming dense fog, a wet road surface and speeds unsuitable for the conditions. According to European Commission figures, Bulgaria recorded 71 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2025, the highest rate in the EU, far above Sweden's 19. Sources: Associated Press; Bulgarian News Agency; Agence France-Presse.