A Polish coach carrying 57 passengers and two drivers overturned on a Hungarian motorway early Sunday, killing 12 people and seriously injuring at least 10, officials and Prime Minister Peter Magyar said.
The bus was travelling from Serbia to Poland when it crashed at about 1am local time, midnight Irish time, on the M3 highway near Mezokeresztes, east of Budapest, police said.
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According to Hungary’s national disaster management agency, the vehicle veered off the road, plunged into a ditch and came to rest on its side.
Eleven victims died at the scene, while a 12th person later succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Emergency responders said 37 others suffered minor injuries.
Rescue crews used two cranes to lift the wrecked coach from the ditch, the disaster management agency said.
Police said preliminary findings indicated that the driver may have fallen asleep before the crash.
The accident is Hungary’s deadliest road disaster since 2003, when a train struck a German tourist bus in Siofok, killing 33 people. In 2002, a bus carrying Polish pilgrims crashed near Balatonszentgyorgy in western Hungary, leaving 19 dead.
Mr Magyar announced the latest death toll in a social media post.
“I send my sincere condolences to the families of the victims,” he said. “I thank all the people who took part in the rescue operation.”
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski described the incident on X as a “tragic bus accident involving Polish tourists.” He said consular officials were working with Hungarian authorities, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that 12 people had died.
