At least 12 people died after a Polish coach crashed into a ditch and overturned on a Hungarian motorway, police said on Sunday. According to emergency services, 47 people were injured in the incident, with 10 suffering serious injuries.
The accident occurred on the M3 motorway near Mezokeresztes, approximately 140 kilometers east of Budapest, according to police in Miskolc. Police said they believed the driver fell asleep at the wheel during the overnight journey and subsequently arrested him.
Poland's PAP news agency reported that the coach was carrying 59 pilgrims and two drivers from Podkarpackie province in southeastern Poland, returning from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The National Directorate for Disaster Management said several passengers had been trapped under the vehicle when it overturned, and 14 ambulances were deployed to the scene.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar expressed his condolences to the families of crash victims in a Facebook message and thanked emergency services. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said he was deeply shaken, writing on X that his thoughts and prayers went out to the families and loved ones of the victims.
