Distraction of the driver is the most probable cause of last night’s road accident, in which a bus with Serbian registration veered off the road on Trakia motorway at the 216^th kilometres on the road to Sofia.

• Serbian bus carrying 49 passengers, including many children, crashes on Bulgaria's Trakia Highway

According to the Serbian group leader Natasha, one of the elderly passengers felt ill and asked to be moved forward. The driver started to show him how to adjust the seat back and this caused the bus to veer off the road.

Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev and his deputy Borislav Sarafov, director of the National Investigation Service, arrived on the scene last night.

Talking to reporters today, caretaker Minister of Health Dr. Asen Medzhidiev stated there were 14 people being treated in the hospital in Stara Zagora at the moment – 2 adults and 12 children. Two of the children are in more serious condition and have been transferred Pirogov emergency hospital in Sofia, where they will probably undergo surgery. For now, the adults are in good condition. One of them who had to undergo limb amputation is in stable condition. Ambulances are to transport the children and the adults who are in good condition to the border where the Serbian authorities will take over.  

Minister Medzhidiev thanked all medical staff for their swift reaction and for the adequate assistance rendered to the people injured in the crash, and to all members of the public who helped on the scene. Minister Medzhidiev and Serbia’s Minister of Health Zlatibor Lončar visited the injured passengers in hospital. Minister Lončar thanked his Bulgarian counterpart for the support rendered. 

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Agency for Social Assistance are also affording the necessary assistance. Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Nadya Klisurska is also in Stara Zagora, as are social workers from the regional directorate Social Assistance.