Bulgaria: twelve dead and dozens injured in a pileup involving around fifty vehicles

Twelve people died and dozens of others were injured on Tuesday, November 11, in the morning in a pileup involving around fifty vehicles on a highway in southeastern Bulgaria, whose roads are the deadliest in the European Union. Eleven people died at the scene of the accident and another after being transported to hospital, according to a new report published by the Ministry of Health, and 51 others were injured, 13 of whom are “in critical condition”.

The accident occurred near Yambol on the highway linking the capital Sofia to the Black Sea city of Burgas, as thick fog reduced visibility. Around 50 cars and trucks were involved in the chain collision, regional governor Georgi Chalakov told the BTA news agency. Images broadcast by Bulgarian media show vehicles overturned, charred or gutted, on both sides of the track.

An accident caused by unfavorable weather conditions

According to Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, the main factor causing the accident was “the sudden change in weather conditions.” “Visibility was around 70 to 80 meters just before, but it dropped to around 10 meters in a very short time.” “We are actively working on equipping the toll system gantries with display panels to warn drivers,” he added in a statement.

However, the NGO Institute for Road Safety denounced the government's responsibility, stressing that “two hours before the accident, at 5 a.m., the cameras of the toll system recorded that this section of the “Trakia” highway was covered in very dense fog.” “The highway should have been closed on this section from 5 a.m.,” said its president Bogdan Milchev.

The government dispatched two planes equipped with stretchers and medical teams, while officials rushed to the site and Prime Minister Rumen Radev canceled his engagements planned for the end of the day. President Iliana Iotova herself returned urgently from Paris where she was participating in the Peace Forum. A day of national mourning has been declared for Wednesday.

The highest road fatality rate in the EU

This tragedy highlights persistent road safety problems in Bulgaria. According to 2025 figures recently published by the European Commission, the country has the highest road fatality rate in the EU, with 71 deaths per million inhabitants, compared to 19 in Sweden. A total of 456 people died last year on Bulgarian roads, a figure down 5% year-on-year and 27% compared to 2019, after the introduction by the EU of a target of a 50% reduction in road fatalities by 2030 and close to zero in 2050 on European territory.

If the number of deaths has fallen since 2019, the number of injured still numbers in the thousands in this country where a road safety agency was only founded in 2019. The geographical location of Bulgaria, a gateway to the EU which sees many trucks travel, and above all poverty contribute to the persistence of serious accidents: almost half of the cars were more than 20 years old two years ago, while the roads are sometimes in very poor condition.

European Council President António Costa said he was “deeply saddened” by Tuesday’s “tragic” accident on X while Romanian President Nicusor Dan also sent his condolences to the families of the victims. He said that a Romanian citizen was among the injured, to whom he wished a “speedy recovery”.