12 Die After Polish Bus Veers Off Hungarian Motorway Into Ditch

A 24‑tonne tourist bus carrying 57 pilgrims from Poland’s southernmost region of Podkarpacie crashed off the M3 motorway near Budapest on Sunday night, overturning into a roadside ditch and killing 12 passengers.

Police say the bus was traveling at night when the driver is thought to have fallen asleep at the wheel. The vehicle left the motorway at roughly 01:00 local time, before being stopped by a ditch beside the road.

Emergency services worked to lift the rear axle before cranes arrived to lift the whole vehicle. Thirty‑five passengers and two drivers have been rescued so far, while 47 others were treated for injuries ranging from life‑threatening to minor.

Hungary’s ambulance service reports one person with life‑threatening injuries, nine with serious injuries and 37 with minor injuries. The country's Prime Minister Péter Magyar offered his sincerest condolences to the families and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk echoed the sentiment and announced a special Polish aircraft carrying foreign ministry officials and medical crews to assist. “We are together in this difficult moment,” he added.

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said his Hungarian counterpart conveyed that police had already begun questioning the driver. The bus was returning from Bosnia and Herzegovina when the accident occurred.