"In all likelihood, there is a human error combined with a technical malfunction, because even if the bus crashed, it should not have caught fire. Rather, people may have died in the fire rather than the crash itself."

This was commented to BNR by Bogdan Milchev from the Institute for Road Safety after the severe accident on the Struma Highway.

However, Milchev pointed out that the road markings in Bulgaria do not meet the regulatory requirements for light reflectance.

"Several governments in a row refuse to deal with the problems related to the marking on our roads. The marking in Bulgaria does not meet the normative requirements for light reflectance. Drivers become tense and tired faster, and when they get tired faster, they allow more often mistakes", added Milchev.

He added that there were reports of many serious accidents in the area.

"We have data that in this section around the village of Bosnek there are many serious incidents, including last year a chain accident involving a bus, there are also deaths in this section.

For several months we have been alerting the Bulgarian government that a "second Svoge" is imminent, as the road safety deficits in the entire transport system are terrible and it is only a matter of time, but no one knows where an incident like Svoge might happen, "Milchev added.

National Day of Mourning for Victims of Bus Crash near Svoge

He added:

"We could not learn a lesson from Svoge and are currently enduring the next incident with so many victims in one place. This must be prioritized as a major problem for the next Bulgarian government."

/ClubZ