Wire reporting: (Reuters, via ABC News Australia)

At least 11 people were killed after chain crashes on the Trakia motorway in southeastern Bulgaria on Tuesday, in dense fog near Yambol on the route between Sofia and Burgas, the BBC reported¹. ABC News Australia, Al Jazeera and RTE News reported a death toll of 12^2,4,5.

Health Minister Katya Ivkova said 10 people died at the scene near Zimnitsa and one later in hospital, with 46 injured, the BBC said, citing BTA¹. Al Jazeera, citing AFP and AP, said Ivkova reported 10 died on the spot and two while being taken to hospital, with 46 transported for treatment⁴.

ABC News Australia, carrying Reuters, and RTE News, carrying AFP and Reuters, said 12 people died and that 50 injured people were taken to hospital^2,5. Xinhua, citing BTA and Yambol regional governor Georgi Chalakov, earlier said more than 10 people were killed in two multi-vehicle collisions involving about 50 cars and trucks³.

The BBC said Sliven regional governor Mihail Kasherov put the number of vehicles involved at more than 70¹. Chalakov's about-50 figure appeared in Xinhua, Al Jazeera and RTE^3,4,5.

Officials said fog reduced visibility and was the likely cause of the first crash on the eastbound carriageway, with a second crash on the Sofia-bound side also tied to fog, the BBC reported, citing BTA^1,3. Interior Ministry general secretary Lyubomir Nikolov, briefing at the site, said the sequence started with a collision involving a bus, according to RTE and ABC^2,5.

Chalakov said first reports came at 07:10 local time (05:10 GMT), with the injured taken to hospitals in the Yambol, Sliven and Burgas regions, and that fog blocked helicopter evacuations, the BBC reported¹. Al Jazeera and RTE said the government dispatched two aircraft with medical teams^4,5.

ABC, Al Jazeera and RTE said Radev declared Wednesday a day of national mourning^2,4,5. The BBC said he cut short a news conference while hosting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; RTE said von der Leyen cut her visit short^1,5.

Road administration director Galin Kostov said speeds were unsuitable for wet conditions and that the motorway would stay closed until it was cleared, the BBC reported, citing BTA¹. Al Jazeera and RTE, citing European Commission figures, said Bulgaria had 71 road fatalities per million inhabitants in 2025, the highest rate in the EU^4,5. The death toll (11 versus 12), the health minister's on-scene versus in-transit split, and the vehicle count remained unsettled across the accounts^1,2,4.