At least 12 people were killed and 10 others seriously injured after a bus carrying Polish tourists overturned on a motorway in eastern Hungary, authorities said on Sunday.
The accident took place on the M3 motorway near the town of Mezokeresztes, roughly 140 km (87 miles) east of Budapest. The coach, travelling from Serbia to Poland, carried 57 passengers and two drivers when it left the road and turned over in a ditch.
Eleven people were pronounced dead at the scene, while a 12th victim died later in hospital, according to the national disaster management agency. The ambulance service said 37 people sustained minor injuries.
Rescue workers, including the fire brigade, had to pull some passengers out through windows because they were trapped inside the vehicle.
Police said on their website: “A Polish-registered bus travelling on the M3 motorway towards Nyiregyhaza … veered off the straight stretch of road into a ditch and overturned. Preliminary information suggests the driver likely fell asleep.” The driver was taken into custody.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar expressed condolences to the families of the victims and thanked rescue crews who rushed to the scene.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X: “The consular service is operational. We are in contact with the Hungarian authorities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide verified information.”
Polish President Karol Nawrocki said: “It is with deep sorrow that I received the tragic news of the Polish bus accident in Hungary, in which so many of our compatriots died.”
The crash is the deadliest road accident in Hungary since 2003, when a train hit a German tourist bus at Siofok, killing 33 people.
