A chain collision involving nearly 90 vehicles on Bulgaria’s Trakia motorway has left at least 11 people dead and dozens more injured, prompting a national emergency response and military mobilisation.
The series of deadly collisions occurred at about 7am on November 10 at the Zimnitsa junction near the southeastern city of Yambol.
According to preliminary assessments by the Interior Ministry, dense fog reduced visibility on the carriageway to as little as 10 metres, triggering two pile-ups in opposite directions.
A total of 86 vehicles, including passenger cars, a bus and heavy goods trucks, were involved in the wreckage — 63 on the carriageway towards Burgas and 23 towards Sofia — with numerous vehicles overturning or careering off the road.
While initial reports indicated 12 fatalities, a figure Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev repeated, the Health Ministry later revised the death toll to 11 after identifying the victims.
A total of 51 individuals were rapidly transported to regional medical centres across the provinces of Sliven, Yambol and Burgas, 13 of them with serious injuries.
Emergency responders noted that no children were among the deceased or injured.
Absolutely horrific scenes from Bulgaria this morning.
A massive pile-up involving around 50 vehicles on the Trakia motorway near Yambol has reportedly left at least 11 people dead and dozens injured.
Dense fog appears to have played a major role. pic.twitter.com/IUQsNbxVUr
— JazzBG 🇧🇬🇪🇺🇺🇦 (@JazzBulgaria) November 10, 2026
Given the volume of casualties requiring immediate transfusions, the Dr Ivan Seliminski Hospital in nearby Sliven issued an urgent public appeal for civilian blood donations.
The scale of the disaster necessitated a multi-agency rescue operation.
Hundreds of police officers, medical personnel and military units were dispatched to the crash sites alongside 15 fire engines. With the fog preventing a medical helicopter from landing, Spartan military transport aircraft were deployed to facilitate the emergency evacu fation of the most critical patients to Sofia.
Radev, who had been in Varna meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, cancelled his scheduled engagements, directing the deployment of government aircraft for medical transport and visiting hospitals in the thr fee provinces.
The Government declared November 11 a day of national mourning.
In Brussels, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola issued a public statement expressing her condolences to the victims’ families and extending her gratitude to the Bulgarian rescue workers and medical staff operating at the scene.
According to European Commission figures released on October 27, Bulgaria had the EU’s highest road death rate in 2025, with 71 fatalities per million inhabitants.
The Trakia motorway, which had been completely closed in both directions in the Yambol area, reopened early on November 11 after overnight vehicle recovery operations. The National Investigation Service is leading the investigation.
Drone footage reveals the horrifying scale of the tragedy on Bulgaria’s Trakia Motorway. Over 50 vehicles, including cars and trucks, were involved in the massive pile-up, leaving at least 12 people dead and dozens injured. One of Bulgaria’s deadliest road disasters. 😭 pic.twitter.com/NfyVJyGotH
— една българка (@transbulgaria) November 10, 2026
