A tragic incident occurred in Hungary early on Sunday when a passenger bus carrying Polish tourists veered off the road and flipped over into a ditch, resulting in the death of 12 individuals and injuries to several others. The bus, which was en route on the eastbound lanes near Mezokeresztes, overturned on the M3 motorway approximately 140 kilometers east of Budapest at around 1 a.m. Police investigations suggested that the bus driver may have fallen asleep, leading to the accident, and the driver has been detained.
According to Hungary’s National Directorate for Disaster Management, the bus was carrying 57 passengers and two drivers, with some passengers getting trapped under the vehicle following the rollover. Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewiór confirmed that all individuals on board held Polish citizenship.
The passengers on the bus were returning from a pilgrimage in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as stated by the regional government in Rzeszow, Poland. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, in a Facebook statement, mentioned that at least 10 people sustained severe injuries in the incident. He extended condolences to the victims’ families and expressed gratitude to the rescue teams dispatched to the site.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki also expressed profound sadness over the tragedy, offering prayers and sympathy to the families and friends of the victims.