At least 46 people were killed after a tourist bus from North Macedonia crashed and caught fire in Bulgaria early Tuesday, according to officials.
The deadly accident occurred on the Struma highway near the village of Bosnek in western Bulgaria at around 2 a.m. local time. The bus, carrying 53 people, was traveling back to North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, from a holiday trip in Istanbul, Turkey, according to Monika Markovska, an official at the North Macedonian Embassy in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia.
Most of those on board the bus were Macedonian, apart from one Belgian national.
Twelve children were among the 46 people confirmed dead, Markovska told ABC News.
Seven people - four men and three women - were transported from the scene to Pirogov Hospital in Sofia.
The patients, who suffered from burns and lacerations, were all in stable condition, Dr. Ljubo Topkov of Pirogov Hospital told ABC News.
The cause of the crash was unclear and is under investigation, according to Markovska.
