A head on collision between two buses in the Ukraine resulted in the death of both bus drivers and six others, according to a statement given to the media by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry press office. Details about the crash and injuries were slow coming and confusing at first. First reports stated only the bus driver of the Bulgarian bus had been killed, but quickly the death toll rose to four killed on the scene, and then four passengers died after being transported to the hospital.
The deadly crash happened just before 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 11, 2013 not far from the town of Kovel in the Volinska region. The driver of one of the buses was killed in the crash. A Bulgarian and a Ukrainian bus were involved in the accident. The Ukrainian bus served the route where the crash happened regularly. The bus driver of the Ukrainian bus was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
The death toll of the accident was initially just two, but overnight grew to eight as the seriously injured died after being admitted to the hospital. Among the dead was a Bulgarian national, according to the Bulgaria Foreign Ministry.
In initial statements, the Bulgarian ministry had reported to media that the one of the drivers of the bus, had been killed, but that statement was amended and the second bus driver was reported as critical in a local hospital. He soon after died from his injuries.
One of the buses involved had Bulgarian license plates and it carried 50 Belarusian tourists, including ten children.
Bulgarian media reported that the Bulgarian bus carried Belarusian tourists traveling to Bulgaria. The second bus carried a group traveling from the town of Lutsk. They were on a trip to the Shatsk lakes, which are located near the border with Poland and Ukraine.
The Foreign Ministry said, “We are co-operating with local authorities and will release more information as it becomes available.”
The Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, and the Russian RIA Novosti reported, “Another 22 people have been injured, some gravely.”
The Bulgarian bus was owned by the Haskovo-based transport company, Magi Tour. One of the victims was a small child. The bus was transporting fifty people from Belarus to a camp located in the Bulgarian summer report called the “Sunny Beach.”
On the bus was forty children who were sixteen years or under, eight adults, and the two drivers. The total number of injured was twenty-seven.
“There were two Bulgarian buses, eight people died, including two Bulgarian drivers,” the embassy said. “The two drivers were carrying 50 Belarusian citizens, including 40 children,” the diplomatic agency added.
The Bulgarian Embassy has kept in constant contact with Ukrainian authorities and is providing any assistance that is needed. The Bulgarian Ambassador traveled to the crash site. A group from Magi Tour also headed to the Ukraine.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry expressed their deepest sympathies to the families of the victims through local and national media outlets.
Ukrainian authorities state that they are now working to establish the nationalities of the victims and surviving passengers on both buses.