YAMBOL, Bulgaria — At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured on Tuesday morning in two chain-reaction pile-ups involving about 50 vehicles on Bulgaria's Trakia motorway near Yambol in the south-east of the country, in dense fog that closed the main Sofia–Burgas route in both directions. Health Minister Katya Ivkova said 12 people had died — 10 at the scene and two while being taken to hospital — a toll that rose through the morning from early official figures of five and then at least 10.

Source: AFP / Reuters via BTA reports, Nov 10 2026

The first emergency report was received at about 7:10 a.m. local time. One pile-up happened near kilometre 289 on the carriageway towards Burgas, and a second near kilometre 294 on the opposite carriageway towards Sofia, near the Zimnitsa junction outside Yambol, Yambol Regional Governor Georgi Chalakov told the Bulgarian news agency BTA. Cars, vans, trucks and a bus were among the vehicles involved.

Fog cited, but no formal cause yet

Interior Ministry General Secretary Lyubomir Nikolov, briefing reporters at the scene, said fog was the likely cause and that the Burgas-bound pile-up started with a collision between a bus and a truck. The Interior Ministry said dense fog had significantly reduced visibility, and Regional Road Administration director Galin Kostov also pointed to a wet road surface and speeds inappropriate for the conditions. Authorities have not announced a formal determination of cause; police investigative work is expected after rescue operations finish.

Chief Inspector Todor Mishinev of the Yambol Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry told Nova TV that some people were still trapped in their cars while rescue work was the priority. Police, firefighters and ambulance crews were mobilised from Yambol, Sliven, Burgas and Stara Zagora. The BG-ALERT emergency warning system was activated in Yambol, Sliven and Burgas, advising motorists to avoid the affected stretch, and the motorway was closed in both directions, with officials warning the closure could last much of the day.

Hospitals, airlift standby and what happens next

BTA reported at least 27 injured people taken to regional hospitals in early counts, while later official accounts put the number transported at 46 to 50. Four people with serious injuries were admitted to St Panteleimon Hospital in Yambol, its deputy director Valentin Valchev said, in one local account. Prime Minister Radev dispatched a government aircraft to Burgas to stand by to airlift injured people to Sofia, the Government Information Service said, and military Spartan transport aircraft were also put on standby.

The Trakia motorway (A1) is Bulgaria's main east–west corridor, about 360 kilometres long, linking the capital Sofia with the Black Sea city of Burgas; its final section opened in 2013. Bulgaria recorded 71 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2025, the highest rate in the European Union, according to European Commission figures cited in reporting on the crash. Officials have not yet released the victims' identities or nationalities. What happens next: rescue and clearance, a police investigation into cause, and further official updates on the toll — any confirmed change in the death toll or a formal cause finding would be a new development on this story.