At least 12 killed in Bulgaria motorway pile-ups involving dozens of vehicles

At least 12 people have been killed in two motorway pile-ups in eastern Bulgaria, the country's health minister said.

The accidents happened on the A1 ​road that links the capital Sofia with ‌the eastern city of Burgas, with images on local media showing cars and trucks piled ​up across six lanes of highway.

Health minister Katya Ivkova said 10 people died at the scene while two died on the way to hospital, with 46 injured people taken for treatment.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev described the incident as a "tragedy" in a ⁠statement.

Dense fog was the likely cause of the collisions, according to Lyubomir Nikolov of the country's interior ministry, who briefed reporters at the scene.

Police, firefighters and the ambulance service rushed to the site of the pile-ups, which forced the closure of the road in both directions.

Mr Radev said ‌that he had deployed aircraft to evacuate the wounded and planned to attend the scene.

He made his remarks during a visit to Bulgaria by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who said she would ‌cut her stay short.

"I would like to express my deepest condolences and I would like to pay respects to the rescue teams," Ms von der Leyen said.

Mr Nikolov said that the incident started with a collision ​between a bus and a truck on the side ⁠of the highway.

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Chief Inspector Todor Mishinev, a regional official with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, told Nova ⁠TV that some people were still trapped ​in their cars.

"Right now, the priority is rescue ​operations. Once they are completed, the procedural and investigative actions will be carried out," he said.

(c) Sky News 2026: At least 12 killed in Bulgaria motorway pile-ups involving dozens of vehicles