Police say they have arrested the driver of a bus that crashed in Hungary, killing at least 12 people. The bus was carrying Polish pilgrims, media report.
At least 12 people have died after a Polish coach crashed into a ditch and overturned in eastern Hungary, police said on Sunday.
According to emergency services, 47 people were injured in the incident, 10 seriously.
What do we know about the accident?
The accident occurred on the M3 motorway near Mezokeresztes, around 140 kilometers (87 miles) east of Budapest, according to police in the district capital, Miskolc.
Police said they believe the driver fell asleep at the wheel during the overnight journey into Sunday. He was subsequently arrested.
Poland’s PAP news agency reported that the bus had been carrying a group of pilgrims from Podkarpackie province in the far southeast of Poland.
The group, said to number 59 people, including two drivers, had been returning from Bosnia-Herzegovina, PAP said.
Fourteen ambulances were deployed to the scene of the crash, reports said.
Hungary’s National Directorate for Disaster Management said that several of the passengers had been trapped under the vehicle when it overturned.
Condolences from Hungary, Poland
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has voiced his condolences to the families of the crash victims in a Facebook message and thanked emergency and rescue services.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki said he was deeply shaken. “In the face of this unimaginable tragedy, which affects us all, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the victims,” the 43-year-old wrote on X.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
DW News
