A view shows the site where a bus with North Macedonian plates caught fire on a highway, near the village of Bosnek, in Bulgaria, November 23, 2021. /Reuters
A total of 45 people, including 12 children, were killed in a bus accident in Bulgaria early on Tuesday, according to local media.
According to the reports, a North Macedonia-registered bus carrying 52 people caught fire on the highway after it passed through checkpoints in the village of Kapitan Andreevo near the border with Turkey.
The driver was among the victims.
Seven people survived with burns and were rushed to emergency hospital in Sofia, the capital. Bulgaria's fire department officials told local media the injured were not in a serious condition.
Local authorities said they're investigating the cause of the accident.
The vehicle was believed to be travelling from Turkey's Istanbul to Skopje in North Macedonia.
Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev said the victims were probably fellow Macedonians. "We don't know if all the victims are from North Macedonia, but we assume so because the bus is registered in the country," he told Nova TV.