The chain of crashes
Dense fog on the A1 motorway in eastern Bulgaria set off a string of crashes on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, near the city of Yambol. The road links the capital Sofia with the Black Sea port of Burgas, and the pileups closed it in both directions. Reports differ on how many vehicles were involved: regional governor Georgi Chalakov spoke of around 50 cars and trucks, Europa Press reported more than 80, and BBC Serbian, citing the mayor of Sliven, counted more than 70. Images from local media show cars and trucks jammed across all six lanes, with many overturned, burnt out or driven off the carriageway.
According to interior ministry secretary general Lyubomir Nikolov, the first impact was between a bus and a truck about 75 kilometres west of Burgas, on the carriageway toward Burgas. A second truck carrying grain was then hit, and a car ran into the rear of that vehicle. Interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev suggested that drivers slowing down to see what had happened on the opposite side may have contributed to the second pileup, which occurred on the carriageway toward Sofia.
Casualty figures
Rumen Radev's early figure, given to reporters, was 11 dead and 48 injured. Health minister Katya Ivkova told AP that 10 people died on the spot and two more died while being taken to hospital, with 46 people transported for treatment. The health ministry's later statement, as reported by 7sur7, put the toll at 12 dead, 11 at the scene and one after transport, and 51 injured, 13 of them in critical condition. The interior ministry had earlier said 50 injured people had been taken to hospital.
- Dense fog on the A1 near Yambol sets off chain crashes, with a bus and a truck in the first impact
- Radev cancels official events and heads to the scene as the health ministry reports 12 dead and 51 injured
- Bulgaria observes a national day of mourning
Response and visits
Radev, who was meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to Bulgaria, cancelled his official events for the day and headed to the scene. Von der Leyen cut her visit short, expressing condolences to the victims' families and paying tribute to the rescue teams. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola posted her condolences on social media. The government dispatched two aircraft with stretchers and medical teams, and the defence ministry ordered two aircraft moved from Burgas to the Bezmer air base near Yambol, according to Europa Press. Digi24, citing Novinite, reported that a Romanian citizen was among the injured and was in serious condition.
Rescue crews had to remove sections of guardrail to reach people, and the fog meant helicopters could not be used to evacuate the injured, according to BBC Serbian, which quoted Chalakov.
Road safety questions
Bulgaria recorded 71 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2025, the highest rate in the EU, compared with 19 in Sweden, according to European Commission figures cited by 7sur7. Demerdzhiev said the main factor was a sudden change in weather, with visibility falling from about 70 to 80 metres to about 10 metres in a very short time, and said the ministry was working to fit toll-gantry signs with warnings for drivers. The Institute for Road Safety, whose president Bogdan Milchev spoke on the matter, said toll-system cameras recorded very dense fog on that stretch at 5:00 that morning and that the motorway should have been closed from then. Road directorate director Galin Kostov told BBC Serbian that vehicle speeds were not suited to the wet roads.
What happens next
According to interior ministry official Todor Mishinev, the investigation will begin only after rescue operations are finished. The government has set a national day of mourning for Wednesday, 11 November 2026, and Radev said he would visit the affected areas. The final toll and the condition of the 13 people in critical condition are not yet known. The investigation is set to begin once the rescue work is complete.