Polish Tourist Bus Crash Kills 12, Injures Dozens in Hungary

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.