An emergency meeting at the Council of Ministers, called by PM Boyko Borissov, discussed, with the participation of the ministers of health, of the interior, of transport and of regional development, as well as of the prosecutor general, the circumstances surrounding last night’s severe road accident involving a bus near the town of Svoge.

At a briefing after the meeting it was announced that there is no change in the number of people killed – 16 - and that there is a 13-year old boy among threm. Five out of the 21 people wounded have life-threatening injuries. 

The bus was driving at 53 kms. per hour along a road section with a speed limit of 40; at the time of the crash the vehicle did not have a document verifying a regular roadworthiness test had been conducted.

The road section underwent repairs in 2016, though work was substandard, which is why the Road Infrastructure Agency demanded that the contractor correct the work done on five separate occasions. The inspections and expert assessments continue.