How did Bulgaria's tragic accident happen, Bulgarian media report on two versions being investigated

Whether the bus is on fire before the accident or after it is still unknown.

By DnevnikTwo major versions are being investigated a mistake by the bus driver and an unexpected technical malfunction.

It is not known whether the vehicle was on fire after the accident or because of it. Two major versions are being investigated a human error of the bus driver and an unexpected technical malfunction. Authorities did not mention a link to road conditions as part of versions under investigation”, Dnevnik reports.

Stanismir Stanev, director of the Directorate General of National Police, told BTV that there was no other bus at the scene of the accident.

According to incumbent Interior Minister Boyko Raskov, however, the vehicle was the last in a column of several buses traveling together after the trip.

According to him, they were organised together by the same owner.

Before BTV, Bogdan Milchev from the Institute for Road Security called for an investigation into the situation of the road (with human error and technical dysfunction), because the investigation of only two hypotheses, as authorities report, is incorrect.

Otherwise, at least 46 people, most of them from Northern Macedonia, have died after a bus is involved in fires on a highway west of Bulgaria on 23 November, officials have said.

Children have been among the victims, and seven survivors have needed treatment at the Sofia capital hospital as a result of burns, Nikolai Nikolov from Bulgaria's Interior Ministry told private television, BTV.

There were 53 people on the bus. The accident occurred on Struma Highway about 45 km west of Sofia in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

An official from the hospital in Sofia has said seven people are being treated who have managed to leave the bus. Their condition is stable.

For the tragic accident, Bulgaria's Ministry of Internal Affairs has issued notice.

“Denonymation for a serious traffic accident was made shortly after 2 am this morning. According to initial data from the Struma highway, about 31km has been hit by a bus registered in the Republic of Northern Macedonia. As a result of the accident, 45 people have lost their lives. Police, fire departments and ambulances have long gone to the scene. As a result of their quick actions, seven people have been transported to the hospital for treatment. An inspection is under way. The rotation is cut in both directions. A temporary organization for movement through p.v. Dolna Dicanya and p.v. Dascalovo”, says the Ministry's announcement.