North Macedonian PM calls bus crash 'a terrible tragedy'

"A terrible tragedy has occurred,” said North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to the press in Sofia. "Northern Macedonia has lost 46 people including young children."

Previously, officials had recorded that the bus carrying North Macedonian tourists caused the death of at least 45 people, including 12 children.

The cause of the accident was unclear but the bus appeared to have hit a highway barrier either before or after it caught fire, the officials said.

Seven people who leapt from the burning bus were rushed to the Pirogov emergency hospital in the Bulgarian capital Sofia and were in a stable condition, hospital staff said. They had suffered burns and one had a broken leg.