Day of Mourning in Bulgaria as Prosecutors Examine Road Conditions, Question Witnesses after Deadly Motorway Pile-Ups 2026

Leave a Comment / All articles, Bulgaria / By България Новините

Investigators continued examining the causes of Tuesday’s deadly pile-ups on the Trakia Motorway near Yambol, Southeastern Bulgaria, on Wednesday, requesting road maintenance records, collecting evidence and questioning witnesses, as Bulgaria observed a day of national mourning for the 11 people killed in the crashes. The Government approved EUR 8,000 in one-time financial assistance for the families of those who died, while hospitals continued treating the injured.
The two pile-ups occurred in dense fog near the Zimnitsa junction in Yambol Region on Tuesday morning, involving 86 vehicles and leaving 51 people hospitalized. National flags at state institutions were flown at half-mast on Wednesday in memory of the victims.
The Yambol Regional Prosecution Office said more than 50 witnesses had been questioned, including people injured in the crashes who were able to give evidence. Six inspections of the accident scene had been carried out using technical equipment, including a drone, and 20 vehicles considered to have played a significant role in the collisions had been seized for further examination.
Among them was a lorry driven by a Romanian national, who was detained to ensure his availability for questioning. Yambol District Prosecutor Doychin Doychev stressed that no charges had been brought against the driver and that investigators were still working to establish the causes of the crashes.
The National Investigation Service is leading the inquiry with a team of ten investigators assisted by three criminal investigators. Forensic medical examinations have been ordered for those killed and injured, while an automotive technical examination is to establish the sequence and mechanics of the collisions. Prosecutors said they would consider whether to bring charges against specific individuals once the necessary expert assessments had been completed.
The prosecution service has also requested all documentation from the Road Infrastructure Agency concerning the commissioning and repair of the affected motorway section. Samples have been taken from the road surface to assess its skid resistance, and a construction and engineering examination will seek to establish its condition. Information has also been requested from the relevant institutions to determine the precise weather conditions at the time of the crashes.
Speaking at a briefing near the scene on Wednesday morning, Yambol Regional Police Director Senior Commissioner Dobrin Dimitrov said initial reports indicated that visibility had deteriorated sharply before the pile-ups. The Romanian driver’s lorry may have been travelling very slowly or entering the carriageway from the hard shoulder, but this remained to be established through expert examinations, he said.
Regional Development and Public Works Minister Ivan Shishkov, meanwhile, told Parliament’s regional policy committee that preliminary information indicated no problems with the road markings or surface condition at the site of the crashes. He stressed the need for motorways to be equipped with intelligent transport systems capable of warning drivers about dangerous conditions.
Shishkov said a tender was being prepared for the design and construction of such a system on the Trakia Motorway, with funding included in the draft 2027 budget before Tuesday’s tragedy. He noted that an earlier project launched in 2016 had not been completed and that the relevant contract was terminated by mutual agreement in April 2022.
Yambol Regional Governor Georgi Chalakov said there was no information that the 112 emergency hotline had received a warning about fog at the crash site shortly before the collisions. He added that photographs from toll cameras could not establish how dense the fog had been.
Chalakov said emergency vehicles had responded within ten minutes of the initial report and that teams from Yambol, Sliven and Burgas regions had been mobilized. According to him, all the injured had been evacuated and taken to hospitals within approximately an hour to an hour and a half.
Yambol Fire Safety and Civil Protection Director Commissioner Ivan Dinev said 15 firefighting teams comprising 61 personnel from five regions had participated in rescue operations. Emergency crews had to carry some of the injured by hand because damaged vehicles and traffic congestion prevented ambulances from reaching parts of the crash scene.
The motorway was cleared and reopened to traffic under police supervision on Wednesday, according to Dimitrov.
Hospitals in Sliven and Yambol reported on Wednesday morning that 26 patients remained under treatment. Eighteen were at Dr Ivan Seliminski Hospital in Sliven, including four in intensive care and one in serious condition, while eight patients at St Panteleimon Hospital in Yambol were in stable condition. The figures did not include patients being treated in Burgas.
Health Minister Katya Ivkova said sufficient blood supplies were available for treating the injured, despite appeals for donations issued by some hospitals. She also discussed plans to merge the country’s emergency medical and air medical emergency coordination centres, saying the response to Tuesday’s crashes had demonstrated the need for closer coordination.
Following Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Labour and Social Policy Minister Nataliya Efremova announced that the families and heirs of those killed would receive EUR 8,000 in one-time assistance. The payments are expected within days, once the recipients have been identified. Families of injured people may also seek information about available social assistance, while those in need of psychological support can be referred to free municipal services.
The Interior Ministry said a team of 16 specialists from its Institute of Psychology had provided psychological first aid to injured people, relatives of those killed and emergency responders involved in the rescue operation. After the rescue efforts were completed, the psychologists worked individually with police officers, firefighters and rescuers to help them cope with the psychological impact of the tragedy. Professional psychological assistance will continue over the next two days in Burgas, Yambol and Sliven.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev expressed condolences to the bereaved families at the Cabinet meeting and thanked the emergency and medical teams for their response. He urged drivers to maintain safe distances, adapt their speed to road conditions and put the safety of others ahead of saving time.
Parliament observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims. MPs rejected a proposal by Vazrazhdane to hold a hearing of Regional Development Minister Shishkov and Road Infrastructure Agency Management Board Chair Aleksandar Todorov on the causes of the crashes.
Democratic Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader Bozhidar Bozhanov said his parliamentary group would not participate in the vote because Wednesday was a day of mourning. He suggested that a hearing be held the following week, once more information had been gathered, with the support of all parliamentary groups.
GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko Borissov also commented on the political response to the tragedy, calling for legislation that would prohibit politicians from making public statements for at least 24 hours after major accidents. He criticised the Government’s handling of the aftermath and reiterated concerns about political accountability, while expressing condolences to the victims’ families and thanking the emergency services.
Expressions of sympathy continued throughout Wednesday. Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil offered condolences and prayers for the injured, while Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova paid tribute to those who had lost their lives.
EU and Bulgarian flags outside European institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg were lowered to half-mast in solidarity with Bulgaria. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola called for a minute of silence at the opening of the Parliament’s plenary session in Brussels and thanked the rescue and medical teams for their efforts.
The crew of the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421), currently in Antalya, Turkiye, for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 31), also commemorated the victims. The vessel’s flag was lowered to half-mast, and the crew and an official Bulgarian delegation led by Ambassador to Turkiye Angel Cholakov observed a minute of silence on Wednesday. The delegation included representatives of the Bulgarian Embassy in Ankara, the Environment and Water Ministry and the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute. The vessel is on its fifth voyage to Antarctica as part of the 35th Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition.
Greece, Turkiye and Serbia also conveyed condolences to Bulgaria and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Day of Mourning in Bulgaria as Prosecutors Examine Road Conditions, Question Witnesses after Deadly Motorway Pile-Ups 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-11-11 08:41:00

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