In brief
At 01:00 local time on Sunday a Polish tourist bus plunged off Hungary’s M3 motorway, overturning into a ditch and killing twelve people. The incident, reported by police, is attributed to driver fatigue and led to the bus’s driver being arrested. Thirty‑five passengers and a second driver have been rescued by emergency teams, while 46 others remain trapped or injured, ranging from critical to minor wounds. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk offered condolences and pledged assistance, with Poland dispatching a special aircraft to support victims. The bus, carrying pilgrims from Podkarpacie, was returning from Bosnia and Herzegovina when the accident occurred.
12 people were killed and dozens more injured when a bus carrying Polish pilgrims veered off a Hungarian motorway and into a ditch.
The bus overturned after leaving the M3 motorway, which links Hungary’s capital Budapest with Nyíregyháza, at approximately 01:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 GMT).
Police believe the driver fell asleep at the wheel. He has been taken into custody.
Thirty‑five of the 57 passengers and two drivers have been rescued by firefighters so far, state media reports.
Emergency services initially attempted to lift the rear axle of the 24‑tonne bus to free those trapped underneath before cranes arrived to lift the whole vehicle, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI.
Hungary’s ambulance service treated one person with life‑threatening injuries, nine with serious injuries and 37 with minor injuries.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar expressed sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk echoed the sentiment, announcing a “special” Polish aircraft with foreign ministry officials and medical services would be dispatched to assist.
"We are together in this difficult moment," Tusk added.
The bus had been returning from Bosnia and Herzegovina and was carrying pilgrims from Poland’s southernmost region of Podkarpacie, according to Polish news agency PAP.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said his Hungarian counterpart informed him that police were already beginning to question the bus driver.
