Polish pilgrims killed in Hungary bus crash returning from Medjugorje

Twelve people died and at least ten were injured when a Polish bus carrying pilgrims overturned on a highway in eastern Hungary early Sunday. The bus was returning from a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to Polish media citing the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewior confirmed that "everything indicates that they were returning from Medjugorje." Local authorities from the pilgrims' home region also confirmed the information. The bus, registered in Poland, was traveling on the M3 highway towards Nyiregyhaza when it veered off the road into a ditch and overturned around 1 a.m. near the town of Mezokeresztes, approximately 140 kilometers east of Budapest.

Police stated that preliminary information suggests the driver likely fell asleep. The driver has been detained. Images from the scene show a severely damaged red bus lying on its side in a ditch, with shattered windows and scattered belongings. Firefighters worked to rescue passengers through the bus windows, with some trapped beneath the vehicle.

Emergency services treated one person in critical condition, nine with severe injuries, and 37 with minor injuries. Eleven people died at the scene, and one additional passenger died after being transported to the hospital. This incident marks the largest bus accident in Hungary since a 2003 disaster where a train collided with a bus carrying German tourists, killing 33 people. Notably, Polish pilgrims were also involved in a fatal bus crash in Croatia four years ago while en route to Medjugorje, which resulted in twelve deaths and over 40 injuries.

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everything indicates that they were returning from Medjugorje