In brief
At about 1 a.m. local time, a 24‑tonne bus of 57 passengers veered off Hungary’s M3 motorway and plunged into a ditch, killing twelve people. Police suspect the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Firefighters and helicopters worked to rescue those trapped under the vehicle. Hungary’s Prime Minister and Poland’s leaders expressed condolences and dispatched aid. The bus had been returning from Bosnia after a pilgrimage from Poland’s Podkarpacie region.
Twelve people were killed and dozens more injured when a bus carrying Polish pilgrims veered off a Hungarian motorway and into a ditch.
Police said the bus overturned after coming off the M3 motorway, which connects Hungary’s capital Budapest with the north‑eastern city of Nyíregyháza, at around 1:00 a.m. local time on Sunday.
Officers believe the driver fell asleep at the wheel and has been taken into custody.
Thirty‑five out of the 57 passengers and two drivers onboard have been rescued by firefighters so far, state‑media reports. Emergency services attempted to lift the rear axle of the vehicle to free those trapped underneath before cranes arrived to lift the entire bus.
Hungary’s ambulance service treated one person with life‑threatening injuries, nine with serious injuries and 37 with minor injuries. The country’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar offered his “sincere condolences” to the victims’ families and wishes the injured a speedy recovery.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk echoed his sentiments, announcing a “special” Polish aircraft with foreign‑ministry officials and medical services will be sent to support the situation. “We are together in this difficult moment,” he said.
The bus had been returning from Bosnia and Herzegovina, carrying pilgrims from Poland’s southernmost region of Podkarpacie, according to Polish news agency PAP. Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said the Hungarian counterpart told him police had already begun questioning the driver.
