At least 45 dead, including 12 children, after bus crash in Bulgaria

Authorities have said the bus, which was registered in Northern Macedonia, crashed around 2am and there were children among the victims.

This image made from video provided by Nova TV shows emergency service workers beside a burnt out bus after a crash in Bosnek, Bulgaria, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. A bus crash in western Bulgaria early Tuesday has killed dozens of people, authorities said. Picture: Nova TV via AP

At least 45 people, including 12 children, died as a bus carrying mostly North Macedonian tourists crashed in flames on a highway in western Bulgaria hours before daybreak on Tuesday, officials said.

Seven people who leapt from the burning bus were rushed to hospital in Sofia and were in stable conditions, hospital staff said. Bulgaria's interior ministry said 45 people died, making it the most deadly bus accident in the Balkan country's history.