This terrible accident occurred on the night from Saturday to Sunday on the M3 motorway near Mezőkeresztes, in eastern Hungary, about 140 km east of Budapest. The bus went off the road and overturned.
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There were a total of 57 passengers and two drivers on the bus. During the incident, 12 people died, another ten are in serious condition and are being treated in Hungarian hospitals, and 37 others suffered minor injuries. Most of the people were from the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; they were returning home from a pilgrimage trip in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
One driver detained
As reported by tvp.info, both bus drivers were questioned, one was released after the interrogation, and the other was detained by the authorities.
Polish officials are not yet commenting on the causes of the accident or who is to blame. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wojciech Zajączkowski, as reported by tvp.info, stated that the results of the investigation will not be announced yet: “This is a matter of actions that must first be taken by the Hungarian police, then it will reach our authorities and will also automatically be communicated to the public.”
The deputy minister also said that the Hungarian police decided that one person should be detained due to the circumstances of the incident – the one who was driving the bus.
Victims still being identified
Polish medical personnel have traveled to Hungary to assess the condition of the injured. It is believed that some of them will return to their homeland on Monday and continue treatment there.
Tvn24.pl reports that currently seven of the 12 victims have been identified.
About the identification of the seventh victim on Monday morning, the Subcarpathian Voivodeship governor Teresa Kubas-Hul reported. According to her, six victims were identified on Sunday, and their relatives were informed of the loss.
According to the voivodeship, a team of three specialists, including psychologists, is working on-site; they participate in informing relatives about the deceased. Another such group left for Hungary on Monday morning to work with the family of the seventh victim.
As the voivodeship head says, the injured currently being treated in Hungarian hospitals will be transferred to medical facilities in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and two hospitals in Warsaw. After flying these people back and assessing their condition, it will be decided where each will continue treatment.
The circumstances of the incident are being investigated by Hungarian law enforcement, and Polish prosecutors have also launched an investigation. It is stated that the transport company will also be checked, which has previously had issues during routine inspections – violations were found twice out of 11 checks, although it is not specified what kind.
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The company’s manager says that both drivers of the bus involved in the tragic accident regularly traveled to Medjugorje. How such a terrible accident could have happened, he said he cannot even imagine – whether the driver, as suspected, might have fallen asleep or fainted. This, he says, will be clarified during the investigation.
Impact and the bus overturned
As passengers told tvn24.pl, everything happened very suddenly – there was a crash, and the bus overturned. Apparently, all the seats inside were overturned, and passengers ended up under them.
One of the passengers, Mrs. Zofia, said that their group became very close during this pilgrimage trip, “and now our friends are dead”: “It is very scary because we saw those people under the bus; it was impossible to help them.”
Another passenger injured in the accident, Helena, who suffered a broken humerus, several broken ribs, and a damaged spine, says the bus overturned once, then again.
It is very scary because we saw those people under the bus; it was impossible to help them.
“I managed to hold onto something, but the seat was torn out along with the entire frame; I held onto the frame. It was dark inside; I couldn’t see anything. But the sight was just unimaginable, how everything looked inside.
The seats were torn out, the windows shattered,” the woman said.
Although injured herself, she still had the strength to help two other fellow travelers get out from under the seats: “I pulled my sister out by the legs. I told her – now save yourself with your hands, and I will pull you by the legs. I helped another man get out too, also pulling him by the legs. Then the rescuers rushed to help.”
According to the injured, they can’t say much about why and how the accident happened. They just felt the bus overturning. And then there were only cries for help and moans.
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According to people, the rescuers appeared very quickly.
