At least 11 people died and 48 others were injured on Tuesday morning after a massive multi-vehicle pileup caused by dense fog engulfed both sides of a major motorway in southeastern Bulgaria.
​The disaster occurred during the morning hours of Tuesday, November 10, 2026, on the Trakia motorway, the primary artery linking the capital city of Sofia to the Black Sea port city of Burgas.
According to regional authorities, thick fog severely impaired visibility, leading to serial collisions involving more than 50 cars, trucks, and heavy transport lorries near the eastern city of Yambol.
The wreckage spanned both northbound and southbound lanes, leaving mangled frames and burnt-out vehicles strewn across the asphalt.
​Emergency response teams, including firefighters, paramedics, and specialized extraction units, rushed to the scene. The Bulgarian government dispatched two medical aircraft fitted with stretchers to airlift critically injured survivors to regional hospitals in nearby cities.
​Addressing journalists in Sofia on Tuesday afternoon, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev confirmed the casualty numbers and expressed condolences.
​”The toll at this point is 11 dead and 48 injured,” Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated. “Right now, the priority is rescue operations. Once they are completed, procedural and investigative actions will be carried out.”
​Following the crash, Prime Minister Radev canceled all remaining scheduled official events for the day, which had included meetings with visiting European Union officials.
​Providing further details on the scope of the disaster near the crash site, Georgi Chalakov, Regional Governor of the Yambol district, told state news agency BTA that emergency services were working to clear dozens of wrecked transport vehicles and passenger cars trapped in the carnage.
Authorities subsequently established a crisis task force and completely closed the motorway in both directions to facilitate ongoing rescue efforts and accident investigation.
​International sympathy followed the disaster. European Council Chief António Costa posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the tragic traffic accident,” while Romanian Foreign Minister Dan Neculaescu confirmed that at least one Romanian citizen was among the injured receiving hospital treatment.
​The crash highlights recurring safety concerns over Bulgaria’s transport infrastructure. European Commission data shows Bulgaria recorded 71 road fatalities per million inhabitants in 2025, ranking its roads as the most dangerous in the European Union.
​Traffic analysts point to a combination of heavy international transit traffic, aging vehicle fleets, reckless driving habits, and poorly maintained infrastructure across the Balkan nation as key drivers behind the high fatality rates on its highways.
