Polish bus crash in Hungary leaves twelve dead and ten injured

A tragic motorway accident in eastern Hungary has left twelve people dead and at least ten others seriously injured according to Aol reporting. The disaster unfolded on Sunday, August 16, 2026, when a Polish-registered tourist coach veered off the road and overturned into a drainage ditch.

The vehicle was travelling eastbound along the M3 motorway near the town of Mezokeresztes, heading towards Nyiregyhaza. The crash occurred at approximately 1am, as reported by the Irish Mirror. According to local police statements cited by The Independent, preliminary findings indicate that the driver likely fell asleep at the wheel before the vehicle left the straight stretch of asphalt.

Media additions

Passenger counts provided to authorities varied slightly in early reports. The state news agency MTI indicated that there were 57 passengers and two drivers on board according to the Goulburn Post, while Hungarian Interior Minister Gábor Pósfai stated that 47 people were travelling on the coach as noted by the Irish Mirror. The vehicle was returning to Poland from a shrine to the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje in southeastern Bosnia, reported the Khaleej Times.

Survivors recalled harrowing scenes from inside the wreckage. Helena Tluczek, a passenger from Lubenia who survived the crash with broken ribs and injuries to her shoulder, spine, and head, described the aftermath from her hospital bed to the Khaleej Times. She was on the phone with a friend back in Poland when the bus suddenly tipped over and rolled.

"All the seats were ripped out. People were under the seats; everyone was screaming for help,"

Helena Tluczek, Survivor, via Khaleej Times

Tluczek managed to pull two people out from under the wreckage and then clawed her way out of that vehicle with her hands.

Emergency responders faced severe challenges at the crash site. Local reports indicated that crews had to attempt to lift the rear axle of the 24-tonne vehicle to free passengers trapped beneath it before cranes were brought in to shift the entire coach according to the Irish Mirror. Hungary's disaster management service confirmed at 3am that emergency personnel had managed to rescue 35 people from the coach, though others remained trapped underneath.

Photographs from the scene showed a badly damaged red bus lying on its side in a ditch by the motorway with windows smashed and belongings and suitcases scattered around as detailed by Aol.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar confirmed the death toll and the number of serious injuries in a public social media post, offering condolences to the bereaved families and praising the swift deployment of rescue teams reported the Irish Mirror. Hungarian authorities confirmed that the surviving bus driver has been taken into police custody.

Polish leadership expressed profound grief over the disaster. Polish President Karol Nawrocki posted on X:

"It is with deep sorrow that I received the tragic news of the Polish bus accident in Hungary, in which so many of our compatriots died."

Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland, via Aol

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X that a "tragic accident" involving a bus carrying Polish tourists happened in Hungary noted Aol.

The disaster echoes past tragedies involving long-distance transit routes in the region. In July 2002, a tourist bus carrying Polish pilgrims flipped over at a roundabout near Lake Balaton in western Hungary, killing 20 people according to archives cited by the Khaleej Times.

Timeline of the Incident

• Early Sunday, 1:00 AM: The Polish tourist coach overturns into a motorway ditch near Mezokeresztes on the M3 motorway.
• Sunday, 3:00 AM: Hungary's disaster management service confirms that emergency personnel have rescued 35 passengers from the wreckage.
• Sunday morning: Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar and police confirm the deaths of twelve individuals and at least ten serious injuries, announcing that the driver has been taken into custody.