Eleven Killed in Two Pile-Ups on Trakia Motorway near Yambol 2026

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Eleven people were killed in two pile-ups that closed the Trakia Motorway in both directions near the Zimnitsa junction on Tuesday, Health Minister Katya Ivkova said.
Ten people died at the scene and one died in hospital, Ivkova told journalists at Dr Ivan Seliminski Hospital in Sliven. The Health Ministry said the patient died in a Yambol hospital and that the toll could rise as crews cleared the wreckage.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev, speaking to journalists in Varna, put the number of injured at 48.
Sliven Regional Governor Mihail Kasherov told journalists at the scene that more than 70 vehicles were involved. He said the scene defied description and that he had never seen anything like it.
The Interior Ministry later put the total number of vehicles involved at 86, with 63 on the Burgas-bound carriageway and 23 on the Sofia-bound carriageway, in an update on Facebook.
The Health Ministry said about half the scene had been cleared by 11:30 a.m. Vehicles piled on top of one another still had to be cut apart and removed.
The Health Ministry said 46 people were in hospital as of 11:30 a.m. Eighteen were at Dr Ivan Seliminski Hospital and nine at the Military Medical Academy hospital in Sliven. Twelve were at St Panteleimon Hospital in Yambol and seven were at two hospitals in Burgas.
The same 11:30 a.m. update put four of the seven patients in Burgas at Deva Maria Hospital and three at Heart and Brain Hospital. It also reported that one patient in Burgas was in a serious condition and undergoing surgery, while another had a severe chest injury.
Dr Ivan Seliminski Hospital Executive Director Vassislav Petrov said 18 patients had arrived directly from the crash scene and two others had been transferred from Yambol. Thirteen had been admitted, two had been discharged and the remaining patients were still being assessed. Four were in intensive care. The hospital had suspended surgery to free up staff and resources.
Kasherov had earlier said doctors would assess whether three patients in a very serious condition needed to be transferred. Helicopters were on standby to fly them to Burgas Airport, where a Spartan military transport aircraft was ready for onward transport. Kasherov said Ivkova had told him a second Spartan could be made available if needed.
Ivkova said the Prime Minister had also made the government aircraft available. Seriously injured patients could be flown from Burgas to hospitals in Sofia if medical teams deemed a transfer necessary. Hospitals in Sofia were on standby, and hospitals in Plovdiv, Haskovo and Stara Zagora could also take patients if needed.
Radev said he had ordered Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev to fly to Burgas aboard the government aircraft so it could be used to transport injured people to Sofia if necessary.
Two Spartan aircraft carrying stretchers and medical teams had also landed at Burgas Airport, Radev said. Because most of the injured were in hospitals in Sliven and Yambol, the Defence Minister had ordered both aircraft to move to Bezmer airfield near Yambol.
Ivkova offered her condolences to the families of those killed and described the crashes as particularly serious. She praised the coordination among emergency medical crews and the Interior and Defence ministries. “We are ready to save as many lives as possible,” she said.
Six people injured in the pile-ups, three men and three women, were in stable condition after being admitted to Heart and Brain Hospital in Burgas, General Intensive Care Unit Head Valentin Milev said.
Four had less serious injuries. Three were admitted to the orthopaedics and traumatology clinic and one to the thoracic surgery clinic. The other two had multiple injuries and were admitted to the anaesthesiology and intensive care department. One was due to undergo surgery, while the other was having a CT scan to assess suspected chest and abdominal injuries.
Head of the Orthopaedics and Traumatology Clinic Asen Baltov said one of the six patients was a Romanian national. Two had been transferred from a hospital in Yambol because of the severity of their injuries. One had multiple fractures and other traumatic injuries.
Baltov, who had been at the scene, described the crashes as exceptionally serious and said visibility had been severely reduced by dense fog. “The images speak for themselves. I have never dealt with a case like this in my career,” he said.
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev sent Acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov and Deputy Interior Minister Kaloyan Kaloyanov to the scene, the ministry said.
Nikolov said the first pile-up occurred on the Burgas-bound carriageway after a lorry blocked the path of a passenger bus. Another collision behind the bus involved a lorry carrying wheat. A car struck the rear of that lorry.
Nikolov said all those who died had been on the Burgas-bound carriageway and that the crash was most likely caused by dense fog that had formed suddenly. Regional Road Administration Director Galin Kostov also cited the wet road surface and speeds unsuitable for the conditions.
“We believe the crash on the Sofia-bound carriageway happened in the same way. Drivers were probably distracted by the nearby collision, which would explain why both crashes happened in the same area,” Nikolov said.
Kaloyanov gave a separate hospital tally, saying 28 injured people had been admitted in Sliven Region, 16 in Yambol Region and six in Burgas. Nikolov said all the injured had been admitted to hospital and one patient in Burgas was expected to be transferred aboard a Spartan aircraft. No children had been reported among the dead or injured, he said.
Nikolov said officials would consider improving road markings on sections prone to fog. “The entire incident will be examined in detail,” he added.
Yambol District Prosecutor Doychin Doychev said the National Investigation Service would take over the investigation because of the severity of the crashes. Two pre-trial proceedings had been opened, one for each crash. Investigators were to examine the scenes and interview witnesses before deciding which expert examinations to commission.
As the fog began to lift, a BTA correspondent at the scene saw crushed cars and lorries along about a kilometre of the motorway. At that point, the bodies of those who died at the scene had yet to be removed from the vehicles.
Yambol Regional Governor Georgi Chalakov said the first report came in at 7:10 a.m. Police, firefighters and ambulance crews were dispatched immediately, and the regional administration convened its crisis response team. Nikolov ordered the activation of Operation Spasi after the crashes were reported.
Chalakov said some vehicles had overturned and rescue crews needed to remove sections of crash barrier to reach the injured. Fog initially ruled out helicopter evacuation, he said, adding that there had been no reports of a vehicle catching fire.
A medical helicopter had taken off from Sliven but was unable to land at the crash scene because of the fog, the Health Ministry said. Its medical personnel were taken to the scene in police vehicles and joined the rescue operation.
Chalakov declared a partial state of emergency in the municipalities of Straldzha, Tundzha and Yambol. His order took effect at 7:30 a.m. on November 10, 2026, the Yambol Regional Administration said.
The order cited extensive property damage and directed officials to deal with the aftermath, alert the public promptly through the national early warning system and BG-Alert, and ready personnel and equipment. Commissioner Ivan Dinev, head of the Yambol Regional Fire Safety and Civil Protection Directorate, was appointed to lead the operation.
The administration said all available resources from Yambol, Sliven and Burgas regions had been committed to the rescue operation. Ambulances and additional medical and rescue crews were mobilized from all three regions.
Seventeen teams from the Fire Safety and Civil Protection Directorate General were working at the scene, the directorate told BTA: six from Yambol, five from Burgas, three from Plovdiv, two from Sliven and one from Stara Zagora. Road Infrastructure Agency teams were also at the scene.
The Road Infrastructure Agency said it expected the motorway to remain closed in both directions for a prolonged period because of the number of lorries involved and the investigation. Sofia-bound traffic was diverted via Karnobat and Sliven towards Krushare and Hadzhidimitrovo, while Burgas-bound traffic was diverted via Gorno Aleksandrovo, Zimnitsa and Karnobat. Burgas police urged drivers to slow down and leave more space between vehicles where visibility was poor.
The detailed Burgas-bound diversion used roads I-7 and I-6 through the areas of Zimnitsa, Gorno Aleksandrovo, Lozenets, Straldzha, Venets, Ognen and Iskra, with roads III-7957 and III-795 used between Karnobat and Dragantsi. Sofia-bound traffic was routed from Dragantsi through Karnobat along road I-6 towards Sliven, then along road II-53 through the areas of Gergevets, Krushare and Hadzhidimitrovo.
The diversions also applied to lorries over 12 tonnes. The agency urged drivers to take extra care because of heavy traffic in both directions on the diversion routes. Updated information was available at traffic.api.bg and on the round-the-clock telephone line 0700 130 20.
Kasherov had earlier issued a BG-Alert warning about the closure between Nova Zagora and Hadzhidimitrovo. He told BTA that four ambulances had been dispatched along with fire crews and police vehicles.
The National Centre for Transfusion Haematology appealed to eligible donors across the country to give blood at their nearest donation centre. Dr Ivan Seliminski Hospital also issued an appeal. The Health Ministry said hospitals treating the injured had sufficient blood supplies and that additional quantities would be provided if needed.
Radev and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered condolences to the families of those killed during their joint briefing at Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna. Von der Leyen thanked the rescue teams and said she understood the changes to the programme for her working visit. Radev said he and the Defence Minister would leave after the briefing for Burgas, Sliven and Yambol.
A planned visit to Yambol by Minister of Labour and Social Policy Nataliya Efremova and Minister of Youth and Sports Encho Keryazov was postponed because of the crashes, Deputy Mayor Diana Dimitrova told BTA. All events on their programme were called off.

Eleven Killed in Two Pile-Ups on Trakia Motorway near Yambol 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-11-09 23:00:00

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