Polish Tourist Bus Crash in Hungary Kills at Least 12; Driver Detained

A Polish tourist bus crashed into a ditch beside a highway in northeastern Hungary early Sunday, killing at least 12 people and leaving 10 people seriously injured, five of them critically, according to Hungarian authorities.

The bus was carrying 57 passengers and two drivers and was reportedly taking pilgrims from Serbia back to Poland. Hungary's national disaster agency said 11 people were pronounced dead at the scene and a 12th died in a hospital. The ambulance service said 37 other people suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospitals in four cities.

The crash occurred around 1 a.m. on the M3 highway near Mezokeresztes, about 140 kilometers from Budapest. The highway was closed for several hours as rescue teams worked. Interior Minister Gabor Posfai said the driver had been detained, and Hungarian media quoted police as saying he appeared to have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a special flight with medical and consular aid had been sent from Poland. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar offered condolences to the families of the victims, wished the injured a swift recovery, and thanked rescue workers for their efforts.

The crash is one of the deadliest road accidents Hungary has seen in recent decades. In 2003, a train hit a German tourist bus at Siofok, killing 33 people, and in 2002, a bus carrying Polish pilgrims crashed near Balatonszentgyorgy, leaving 19 dead.

Sunday's accident is likely to revive scrutiny of overnight coach travel on Europe's long-distance routes, where driver fatigue has been a persistent safety concern. The route through Hungary and the Balkans is widely used by Polish pilgrimage groups, and the scale of Sunday's death toll is expected to sharpen calls for more rigorous checks of international bus services.