Two pileups in dense fog on Bulgaria's A1 motorway near Yambol on Tuesday killed at least 12 people, according to Health Minister Katya Ivkova^2,4.

The crashes were on opposite carriageways of the highway linking Sofia with Burgas. AP said Ivkova reported the road closed in both directions⁴. Police, firefighters and ambulance crews went to the A1^1,2,3.

Ivkova's counts are not aligned across outlets. RTE quoted her saying 11 people died at the scene and another in hospital². AP quoted her saying 10 died at the scene and two while being taken to hospital⁴. Prime Minister Rumen Radev had earlier put the death toll at 11^1,3.

Injury and vehicle counts also differ. The Interior Ministry said 50 injured people were taken to hospital^1,2,3. AP said Ivkova put that figure at 46⁴. Yambol's regional governor, speaking to BTA, estimated about 50 cars and trucks². AP put the total at some 86 vehicles, many of them heavy trucks, at about 7 a.m.⁴.

Interior Ministry official Lyubomir Nikolov, briefing at the scene, said fog was the likely cause and that the sequence began with a bus collision, described in Reuters copy as a bus and a truck on the Burgas-bound side^1,2,3. AP said police opened an investigation and that initial assessments pointed to reduced visibility from fast-forming dense fog, a wet road surface and speeds unsuitable for the conditions⁴.

Radev said Wednesday would be a day of mourning in Bulgaria and that aircraft were sent to move the wounded². European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was visiting, shortened her trip and offered condolences to rescue teams^1,2,3,4. AP said President Iliana Yotova was cutting short her participation in the Paris Peace Forum⁴.

RTE cited European Commission figures putting Bulgaria at 71 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2025, the highest rate in the EU².

What remains unresolved includes a completed finding on speed or road conditions, a single official injury and vehicle total, and how Ivkova's on-scene versus in-transit deaths were counted^1,2,3,4.