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Scene of the accident near Bosnek: cause of the accident still unclear
Photo: STOYAN NENOV / REUTERS
At least 45 people were killed in a serious bus accident in Bulgaria.
The accident occurred on Tuesday night on the Struma motorway about 40 kilometers south of the capital Sofia, as the official news agency BTA reported, citing the Ministry of the Interior.
Children are also among the victims.
Several injured were taken to a hospital in Sofia.
According to the report, the bus had rammed a guardrail shortly after 2 a.m. (3 a.m. CET) for reasons that remained unexplained and then rolled over.
The bus burned out.
It is still unclear whether he had caught fire before the accident or whether he rolled over and then went up in flames.
Tour group had an accident on the way back
A total of around 50 passengers and two drivers were on the bus, reported the state radio with reference to the police.
The bus had citizens of North Macedonia on board.
According to the BTA, the bus was registered in Skopje, came to Bulgaria from Turkey and was on its way to North Macedonia.
The North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said the tour group was on their way back from a weekend trip to Istanbul.
The attorney general's office started an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Bulgaria's interim Prime Minister Stefan Janew contacted the North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev by phone.
Janew also wants to visit the scene of the accident.
bbr / dpa / AFP / Reuters
