A devastating early-morning road accident has left 12 people dead and multiple others injured after a Polish tourist bus veered off a major Hungarian motorway and crashed into an adjacent ditch in the early hours of Sunday local time. The crash unfolded around 1:00 a.m. local time — equal to 23:00 GMT Saturday — along the M3 motorway, a critical transportation corridor that links Budapest, Hungary’s capital, to Nyíregyháza, a major city in the country’s northeast. Following its departure from the roadway, the bus overturned, leaving dozens of people trapped inside and underneath the vehicle.
Preliminary investigations from law enforcement indicate the crash occurred because the bus driver fell asleep while operating the vehicle. The driver has since been taken into police custody pending further formal investigation into the incident.
As of the latest updates from Hungarian state media, rescue crews including firefighters have successfully pulled 35 of the 57 passengers on board, plus both of the vehicle’s two drivers, to safety. According to Hungary’s state-run news agency MTI, first responders faced challenging working conditions in the immediate aftermath of the crash: before heavy cranes could arrive on site to lift the entire 24-tonne bus, crews worked frantically to raise the vehicle’s rear axle to reach people trapped underneath the chassis.
Hungary’s national ambulance service confirmed the breakdown of injuries among those involved in the crash: one person remains in critical, life-threatening condition, nine people are suffering from serious injuries, and an additional 37 people have been treated for minor wounds.
In the hours following the tragedy, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar released a statement extending his deepest and most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the crash. He also shared public wishes for a full and speedy recovery for all those who were injured during the incident.