All 10 hurt in Bulgarian tourist coach crash near Edirne discharged

All 10 Bulgarian tourists injured when their coach crashed into the back of a lorry near Edirne, Türkiye, have been discharged from hospital, Bulgarian broadcaster 24 Chasa reported. The coach, carrying 51 Bulgarian tourists and two drivers from Ruse to Istanbul, struck the rear of a Turkish-registered lorry on the Kapikule-Edirne road at about 01:30 local time on Saturday, close to the village of Yenikadin.

Four of the 10 were kept in hospital overnight for observation, Bulgaria's consul in Edirne, Radoslava Kafedzhiyska, said; their condition was not serious. NOVA News reported that two of the injured declined treatment altogether, while the rest were examined and released the same night. By Saturday, Bulgarian media said, all four remaining patients had also been sent home.

The injured were first taken to Trakya University Medical Faculty Hospital and to Sultan I Murat State Hospital, Turkish outlet Cumhuriyet reported. The passengers who were not hurt continued their journey back towards Bulgaria on a replacement coach sent by the travel company, Vesti.bg reported, rather than carrying on to Istanbul.

Turkish police and gendarmerie officers, along with medical teams, were sent to the scene after the crash was reported. The manager of the transport company, Stelyan Nikolov, told NOVA News that visibility was poor because of fog and rain that night, and that the lorry had been stationary in the left-hand lane when his company's coach, which he said was being driven correctly, struck it. Turkish authorities have not yet said who was responsible, and an investigation into the cause was continuing, Cumhuriyet reported.

Bulgaria's foreign ministry said its consulate in Edirne was in constant contact with local authorities and ready to provide consular assistance to those affected. No fatalities were reported in the crash.