Thick fog on a motorway in eastern Bulgaria caused two major crashes that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens on Tuesday, a government minister said.
Dense fog on the motorway linking the capital Sofia with the Black Sea port of Burgas led to two pileups. The accidents forced the closure of the road in both directions, Health Minister Katya Ivkova said.
Ivkova said 10 people died at the scene and two others died while being transported to the hospital. She said 46 other people were transported to medical facilities for treatment.
Some 86 vehicles, many of them heavy trucks, were involved in the crashes, which occurred on opposite carriageways in the same place at 7 a.m.
Regional governor Mihail Kasherov told reporters at the site of the mass crash that the scene defied description and he had never seen anything like it.
Police launched an investigation but said initial assessments point to “reduced visibility due to fast-forming dense fog, wet road surface and speeds unsuitable for the conditions.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was on a working visit in Bulgaria on Tuesday, had to change her schedule after her host, Prime Minister Rumen Radev, left her to head to the scene of the accident.
President Iliana Yotova is also cutting short her participation in the Paris Peace Forum and is returning to Bulgaria, her press office announced.
Read MoreAt least 12 dead after two huge car pile-ups on Bulgarian highway
