Polish Tourist Bus Crash Kills 12, Injures Dozens in Hungary
CenterRigor 5122 sources
The Story
Twelve people died and dozens were injured after a Polish tourist bus overturned on the M3 motorway in Hungary on Sunday. The bus crashed near the town of Mezőkeresztes around 1 a.m. local time. Police believe the driver likely fell asleep at the wheel. The driver survived the crash and has been taken into custody. The bus was carrying 57 passengers and two drivers. It veered off the straight road into a ditch and overturned. Emergency services rescued 35 people from the coach, with several passengers initially trapped underneath the vehicle. The Hungarian ambulance service treated one person with life-threatening injuries, nine people with serious injuries, and 37 people with minor injuries. Poland's foreign ministry stated that virtually all passengers were transferred to local hospitals in Eger, Debrecen, and Miskolc, with 10 people in serious condition. All individuals on the bus were Polish citizens. The bus was returning from a pilgrimage to the Catholic shrine in Međugorje, in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group was from Poland’s south-eastern Podkarpackie region. Images from the crash site showed a badly damaged red vehicle lying on its side in a ditch with smashed windows and personal belongings scattered around. Cranes were used to lift the vehicle. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar offered his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and thanked emergency services. Polish President Karol Nawrocki expressed deep sorrow and joined in prayer with the families. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that a special Polish aircraft with foreign ministry officials and medical services would be sent. Poland's Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski confirmed contact with Hungarian authorities and stated that the consular service is operational. This is the deadliest road accident in Hungary since 2003, when a train hit a German tourist bus at Siofok, killing 33 people.
The Spread
Divergent
What they agree on
- A Polish tourist bus crashed on the M3 motorway in Hungary on Sunday, killing 12 people.
- The crash occurred near the town of Mezőkeresztes around 1 a.m. local time.
- Police believe the bus driver likely fell asleep at the wheel, and the driver has been taken into custody.
- The bus was carrying 57 passengers and two drivers, all Polish citizens, returning from a pilgrimage in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Dozens of people were injured in the crash, with at least 10 sustaining serious injuries.
Where they split
- Al Jazeera states the bus was traveling from Serbia to Poland, while other outlets like The Guardian and BBC News state it was returning from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Poland.
- Some articles, such as The Guardian and Notes from Poland, specify the bus was carrying pilgrims from Poland's south-eastern Podkarpackie region, while others like Reuters and Al Jazeera do not include this regional detail.
- The BBC News article mentions 35 out of 57 passengers and two drivers were rescued by firefighters, while other articles focus on the total number of people on board and the injury count.
Source Perspectives
Left6 sources