UPDATE - At least 46 people killed in bus accident in Bulgaria

UPDATE WITH TURKEY’S CONDOLENCES MESSAGE, CHANGES DECK, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ihvan Radoykov

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AA) – At least 46 people were burned to death early Tuesday in a bus accident in western Bulgaria.

The bus with North Macedonian license plate caught fire after crashing into a roadside barrier on a highway near the Pernik city, west of Sofia, according to private television NOVA.

Initial reports indicated 12 children were among those killed, while seven people injured in the accident were taken to a hospital in the capital.

It was reported that the bus departed Istanbul on Monday and entered Bulgaria late that night.

- Turkey’s condolences message

Turkey on Tuesday conveyed its condolences to Bulgaria over the deadly accident.

“We are deeply saddened to learn that there are many casualties and injuries due to a fire that broke out in a nursing home in Varna and the accident of a passenger bus with North Macedonian license plate near the city of Pernik on 22 and 23 November 2021,” said the Foreign Ministry in a written statement.

Turkey sympathized with “the families of those who lost their lives in these tragic incidents, Governments and peoples of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.”

*Writing by Beyza Binnur Donmez and Seda Sevencan