45 killed as bus catches fire on highway in Bulgaria 

Sofia: At least 45 people were killed when a bus with North Macedonian plates caught fire on a highway in western Bulgaria on Tuesday, said officials.

The ill-fated bus was reportedly travelling from Turkey to North Macedonia.

There were children among the victims, and seven people with burns were rushed to hospital.

"At least 45 people were killed after a bus caught fire and crashed, or crashed and then caught fire," said officials.

The accident happened around 2:00 am. The site of the accident is cut off. 

Most of the victims were from North Macedonia, an official from the North Macedonia embassy in Sofia said.

A Bulgarian interior ministry official said it was unclear if the bus had caught fire and then crashed or burst into flames after crashing.
Officials said the bus appeared to have hit a highway barrier and pictures showed a section of the road where the barrier had been shorn off.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

The victims have not yet been named, but officials said they included children and young people, aged between 20 and 30.
victims had been completely burned,

Yesterday, at least nine people died in a fire in a nursing home in the Varna region.