Terrible bus crash: Twelve people die in a religious pilgrimage

Polish pilgrims were travelling the Medjugorje religious pilgrimage in the south of Bosnia when their bus skidded on the motorway. The interior Ministry of Croatia has now confirmed that at least 12 people have died and 13 people were injured in the terrible bus crash. 

The Medjugorje pilgrimage, located 20 kilometres from the border of Croatia, is the third most popular pilgrimage in Europe after Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal, according to exxpres.at

The remains of the blue bus were discovered at the border of the A4 en Podvorec, a busy highway almost 50 kilometres north of Croatia’s capital, Zagreb. 

The state broadcaster HRT has reported that the bus driver could have fallen asleep at the wheel during the 15 hour journey from Varsovia, a distance of more than 930 kilometres.

Heartrending images show the roof of the vehicle crushed by the impact, as well as the clothes of the people inside the bus. 

“All of the victims were Polish citizens” a spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of Exterior Relations confirmed for TVN24. The bus was registered to Varsovia, a city in Poland. 

Staff at the Polish embassy have put the accident down to an accident. Rescuers arrived at the place of the incident at around 5:40am this morning. Investigators are working to understand how the accident occurred. 

The Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, has said that he has spoken to his counterparts, who have promised to employ all of the necessary medical services in Croatia. The Croatian chancellor has also offered his condolences to the families of the victims involved in the tragic accident. 

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