At least 12 people killed in Hungary bus crash

Twelve people died and ten others were seriously injured when a bus carrying Polish tourists overturned on a highway in eastern Hungary. The tragic accident occurred on Sunday on the M3 motorway near the town of Mezokeresztes, approximately 140 kilometers (87 miles) east of Budapest. The bus, en route from Serbia to Poland with 57 passengers and two drivers, veered off the road into a ditch before overturning.

Emergency services reported that eleven individuals were pronounced dead at the scene, while another person succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. The national disaster management agency confirmed the fatalities, and the ambulance service stated that 37 people sustained minor injuries. Rescue workers had to extract some passengers trapped inside the vehicle through the windows.

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A Polish-registered bus travelling on the M3 motorway towards Nyiregyhaza … veered off the straight stretch of road into a ditch and overturned. Preliminary information suggests the driver likely fell asleep.

Preliminary police information suggests the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel. The bus driver has been taken into custody. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar extended his condolences to the victims' families and expressed gratitude to the rescue teams. Polish officials, including Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and President Karol Nawrocki, confirmed consular services are active and are in contact with Hungarian authorities.

The incident marks the deadliest road accident in Hungary since 2003, when a train collision with a German tourist bus near Siofok resulted in 33 fatalities.

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It is with deep sorrow that I received the tragic news of the Polish bus accident in Hungary, in which so many of our compatriots died.