AT least 46 people - including children - have been killed after a fire broke out on a bus in Bulgaria.
The blaze erupted in a vehicle carrying tourists on a motorway at 2am local time near Bosnek, southwest of Bulgarian capital Sofia.
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Shocking pictures show the burnt-out bus in Bulgaria Credit: AFP 5
At least 46 people have died - including children - in the bus fire Credit: Reuters 5
Bulgaria's ministry official Nikolai Nikolov said that 12 children were among the victims of the blaze.
He said that either the "bus caught fire and crashed, or crashed and then caught fire" while on the Struma highway in western Bulgaria.
Footage showed the burnt-out vehicle surrounded by firefighters and emergency crews who had rushed to the scene which was sealed off.
The cause of the tragic crash and fire is still being investigated - but local reports say it may have hit a curb or a guardrail.
Seven people have been taken to hospital with burns but are in a stable condition after jumping from the burning bus to safety.
There were 53 people on board the doomed vehicle, officials said.
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Bulgarian interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said: "We have an enormous tragedy here."
Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov said: "People are clustered inside and are burnt to ash.
"The picture is terrifying, terrifying. I have never seen anything like that before."
North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said the coach party was returning to the capital Skopje from a weekend holiday trip to Istanbul, Turkey.
Their Prime Minister Zoran Zaev called the blaze a "huge tragedy."
He told Nova TV: "We don't know if all the victims are from North Macedonia, but we assume so because the bus is registered in the country."
Representatives from Macedonia's embassy visited the hospital where some of the victims were taken.
A hospital official said the survivors receiving treatment were all in stable conditions.
DOZENS DEAD
Police chief Stanimir Stanev said while the two bus drivers were Macedonian, the passengers were Albanian.
He said: "Initial information shows that 52 people were travelling in the bus, including two drivers with Macedonian nationality and 50 passengers with Albanian nationality."
The horrific scenes were described by Bulgarian Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov, who said the victims' bodies were "completely burnt out."
He added: "It's a terrifying picture in there. I haven't seen anything like that before.
Bulgaria's national police chief Stanimir Stanev said: "Of the victims ... 12 in total were under the age of 18.
"Initial information shows that 52 people were travelling in the bus, including two drivers with Macedonian nationality and 50 passengers with Albanian nationality."
'BODIES BURNT TO ASH'
Bulgarian investigative service chief Borislav Sarafov said either there had been a "human error by the driver or a technical malfunction".
The nation's interim PM Stefan Yanev said: "I take this opportunity to send my condolences to the relatives of the victims.
"Let's hope we learn lessons from this tragic incident and we can prevent such incidents in the future."
In 2019, Bulgaria, which has a population of seven million, had the second-highest road fatality rate in the European Union with 89 people killed per million, according to official data.
628 people died in road accidents that year with 463 dying in 2020 with the clashes and collisions often attributed to outdated cars, speeding and poor road conditions, reports Daily Sabah.
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Seven people have been taken to hospital with burns after jumping from the burning bus Credit: Reuters 5
The cause of the tragic fire is still being investigated Credit: Reuters
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