"Driver fell asleep": 12 killed, 10 injured as bus ferrying 59 people crashes
This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.
- A passenger bus carrying Polish pilgrims overturned on Hungary's M3 motorway around 1 a.m. on Sunday, killing 12 people
- Police said the bus was transporting 57 passengers and two drivers when it veered off the road near the town of Mezokeresztes
- Authorities took the driver into custody, with investigators suspecting he fell asleep at the wheel before the crash
Twelve people died and several others were injured after a passenger bus carrying Polish tourists overturned on a motorway in eastern Hungary in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Hungarian police confirmed that the bus left the eastbound carriageway of the M3 motorway near Mezokeresztes, approximately 140 kilometres east of Budapest, at around 1 a.m., veering off the road and rolling into a ditch.
Investigators believe the driver dozed off, causing the vehicle to lose control, and he was subsequently taken into custody.
Who Was on the Bus?
Hungary's National Directorate for Disaster Management confirmed that 59 people were on board at the time of the crash: 57 passengers and two drivers.
Several passengers were reportedly trapped beneath the overturned vehicle before rescue teams could extract them.
Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewiór told the Polish news agency PAP that all occupants of the bus held Polish citizenship.
The regional government in Rzeszow, in Poland's southeastern Podkarpackie region, confirmed the group had been returning home from a pilgrimage to Bosnia-Herzegovina when the accident occurred.
Leaders Offer Condolences
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said at least 10 people sustained serious injuries in the crash. In a statement posted to Facebook, he conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and acknowledged the efforts of emergency responders who were dispatched to the scene.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki also responded to the tragedy, expressing his "deep sorrow" in a post on X. "I join the families and loved ones of the victims in prayer and deep sympathy," he wrote.
Rescue and recovery operations were carried out at the scene as Hungarian authorities launched a formal investigation into the cause of the accident.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.