Polish bus crash kills 12 on Hungary motorway

Twelve people were killed and dozens injured when a Polish-registered bus overturned on a motorway in eastern Hungary early on Sunday, August 16, 2026. The crash occurred at approximately 1:00 a.m. local time on the M3 motorway near the town of Mezőkeresztes, as the vehicle was traveling in the direction of Nyíregyháza.

The bus, carrying 57 passengers and two drivers, veered off the straight section of the highway, entered a ditch, and overturned on its side. Emergency services launched a major rescue operation, but the effort was complicated because several passengers were trapped beneath the overturned vehicle. According to disaster management authorities, firefighters and rescue personnel worked to free those trapped, eventually requiring civilian cranes to lift the heavy coach. By around 3:00 a.m., 35 people had been rescued from the bus.

The Hungarian National Ambulance Service reported that 14 ambulance units were dispatched under a mass-casualty protocol. Twelve people died, with eleven declared dead at the scene and one later in a hospital. The injured included one person with life-threatening injuries, nine with serious injuries, and 37 with less serious injuries. The...