site.btaOne Year Since Deadly Skopje-bound Bus Crash on Struma Motorway, Which Claimed 45 Lives

November 23 marks one year since the deadly crash of a Skopje-bound bus near Sofia on Struma Motorway, which killed 45, including the driver and 12 children and injured seven others.

The crash occurred shortly after 2:00 am on November 23, 2021 on the 31st km marker of Struma Motorway, close to the village of Bosnek (West Bulgaria). The bus, carrying 52 tourists returning to Skopje from a trip to Istanbul, crashed into the guard rail and caught on fire, burning completely.

The following day was declared a day of national mourning in Bulgaria in memory of the victims in the deadly bus crash and nine victims of a fire in a nursing home in northeastern Bulgaria. The national flags of all state institutions flew at half-mast.

The ill-fated bus was owned by the Besa Trans company, registered in the Republic of North Macedonia, and was the fourth and last one of a group of buses that went on the trip. The accident’s investigation was assigned to the National Investigative Service. The initial conclusions attributed the accident to human error, as the driver was driving too fast.

Bulgaria’s then caretaker prime minister Stefan Yanev and interior minister Boyko Rashkov went to the crash scene. The then prime minister and Foreign Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev and Bujar Osmani, also visited to Bulgaria after the accident, together with health minister Venko Filipce.

A civil lawsuit was filed with the Pernik Regional Court in January, resulting in expert statements about the road section’s condition, including road markings, guard rails and road signs. Additional road signs along the section where the accident happened were installed by the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) in the beginning of this year.

Relatives of those who perished in the accident filed a lawsuit this August, demanding compensations of EUR 750,000 from RIA and the Bulgarian association of vehicle insurers. The lawyer claims that there were a number of irregularities on the road, such as confusing road signs and markings, low-quality guard rails and asphalt, which have contributed to the accident.

BTA’s Reference Directorate has contributed to this story.