Eleven people died and dozens were injured on Tuesday in a mass pileup in thick fog on a motorway in southeastern Bulgaria, whose roads rank as the most dangerous in the EU.

Crashes snared around 50 cars and trucks heading in both directions of the highway linking the capital Sofia to the Black Sea city of Burgas, regional governor Georgi Chalakov told the BTA state news agency.

Images showed overturned and smashed cars and trucks mangled together, as well as burnt-out vehicles, at the scene of the accident near the city of Yambol.

Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said in a statement that a sudden change in weather conditions was the main reason for the pileup.

Visibility was around 70-80 metres immediately before the incident, but dropped to approximately 10 metres within a short period, according to information available to the ministry.

"We are actively working on equipping the toll system gantries with display screens to warn drivers," he said.

The motorway section should have been closed early on Tuesday, Bogdan Milchev, chairman of the Road Safety Institute NGO, told public radio station BNR, blaming the government.

Ten people died at the scene, while another person died after being admitted to hospital, the health ministry said in a statement, revising an earlier statement that had said 11 people died at the scene.

In total, 51 people were admitted to hospitals in nearby cities, with 13 of them critically injured, it added.

The government dispatched two aircraft equipped with stretchers and medical teams, as government officials rushed to the scene, while Prime Minister Rumen Radev cancelled his appointments for later on Tuesday.

The government wants Wednesday to be a day of national mourning, while President Iliana Iotova, rushing back from abroad, also expressed her condolences.

Bulgaria saw 71 road fatalities per million inhabitants in 2025, the highest rate in the European Union, according to European Commission figures.

Victims blame the Balkan nation's high number of traffic deaths on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and an inefficient justice system.

Romanian Foreign Minister Dan Neculaescu said one Romanian was among the injured and expressed "deepest condolences" to the victims and their families in a post on X.

European Council chief Antonio Costa also said on X he was "deeply saddened to learn of the tragic traffic accident in Bulgaria this morning." (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong