North Macedonia-bound bus crashes on Struma motorway, killing 45 people

45 people have died in a road accident on Struma motorway. A passenger bus with North Macedonian plates travelling from Turkey to North Macedonia crashed and caught fire shortly after 2 am on November 23. 7 people have been taken to Pirogov Hospital for Emergency Medicine with non-life threatening injuries. 52 people travelled on board the bus, including 51 nationals of North Macedonia and one Belgian citizen. Most victims are residents of Skopje. There are many young people and children among the victims.

Bulgaria’s caretaker Premier Stafen Yanev and this country’s caretaker Minister of Interior Boyko Rashkov called the bus crash a tragedy. This has been the worst road accident in Bulgaria with the highest number of victims.

The responsible institutions are yet to establish the cause of the tragic accident. North Macedonia’s Premier Zoran Zaev arrived urgently in Sofia. He spoke with one of the survivors who said there was a blast onboard the bus./BGNES