A bus made a sharp turn on the highway and crashed in Croatia Earlier Sunday, the driver apparently fell asleep, killing 10 people and injuring at least 44 people-some of them were seriously injured, the authorities said.
The crash occurred at around 12 am Eastern Time, near the town of Slavorski Brod on the highway between the capital Zagreb and the Serbian border.
After investigation, the authorities stated that the bus driver was arrested after he apparently lost control of the vehicle after falling asleep briefly.
According to Croatia’s Index news portal, local deputy prosecutor Slavko Pranjic said: “He said he slept for a while.”
The photos at the scene showed that the bus was parked in the grass on the side of the road. Local media said that traffic on the highway was suspended for several hours before the bus was demolished and a lane was reopened. Firefighters and rescuers could be seen around the bus.
According to the police, the bus has a Kosovo license and is a regular route from Germany to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo in southern Serbia.
Officials said the bus was carrying 67 passengers, including children and two drivers, one of whom was killed in the accident. The local police chief Franjo Galic described the accident as “one of the worst accidents I have ever seen.”
The 44 injured were transferred to hospitals in the area. Josip Samardzic, director of Slavonski Brod Hospital, said that eight people were seriously injured.
Health Minister Willy Barros later said that 15 minors were passengers and one girl was seriously injured.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrei Plenković expressed “sorrow and sorrow” and expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the crash and the people of Kosovo.
“We hope that the injured can recover,” Plenkovic wrote on Twitter.
Croatian President Milanovic also expressed condolences to the injured and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Kosovo sent the Minister of the Interior to Croatia. Senior officials expressed condolences to the families of the victims and expressed the hope that the injured would recover quickly.
President Vjosa Osmani, who is participating in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, expressed her sadness in a message on Facebook.
Osmani said: “In our hearts and spirits, we maintain close contact with the families who lost their loved ones in this tragedy.” “This is an indescribable pain and a huge loss.”
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti said: “This is a tragic day for our country and our people.”
The highway where the accident occurred is the main traffic artery through Croatia. Croatia is very busy in summer due to tourism and foreign workers returning from Western Europe.
© 2021 Canadian Press
