Twelve people died after a bus carrying Polish pilgrims veered into a ditch on a Hungarian highway over the weekend [1].
The tragedy has triggered a prosecutor's investigation and high-level government coordination between Poland and Hungary to identify victims and determine the cause of the crash.
Polish officials are working to confirm the identities of all those killed. Wiesław Szczepański, the deputy head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, said seven victims have been identified so far [2]. Teresa Kubas-Hul, the Podkarpackie Voivode, said seven people have been identified [3].
The crash occurred during the night between Saturday and Sunday. Reports on the exact location vary, with some sources citing the M3 highway [1] and others citing the A4 [4].
Casualty reports regarding the injured differ across sources. One report indicates 10 people were seriously injured [1], while another states that 32 people were injured in total [4]. One surviving passenger described the scene as macabre [5].
Investigators have not yet established the cause of the accident. A technical inspection of the vehicle is underway, and the Road Transport Inspection planned a control check for Monday [1, 2].
The victims were part of a pilgrimage group. Local authorities in the Podkarpackie region, where many of the passengers originated, are managing the notification of families as the identification process continues.
“Twelve people died after a bus carrying Polish pilgrims veered into a ditch”
This incident highlights the risks associated with long-distance group travel across European borders. The discrepancies in reporting regarding the specific highway and the number of injured passengers suggest an evolving situation where early data from the scene is still being reconciled by official investigators.
