SOFIA: At least 45 people, including 12 children, died as a bus carrying mostly North Macedonian tourists crashed in flames on a highway in western Bulgaria on Tuesday, officials said.
Seven people who leapt from the burning bus were rushed to hospital in Sofia and were in stable conditions, hospital staff said. Bulgaria’s interior ministry said 45 people died, one less than the toll given earlier .
The cause of the accident was unclear but the bus appeared to have hit a highway barrier either before or after it caught fire, Bulgarian officials said.
Television footage showed the bus charred and gutted by fire in the middle of the highway.
“We have an enormous tragedy here,” Bulgarian interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev told reporters.
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,” he told reporters at the site.
Bulgarian investigative service chief Borislav Sarafov said four buses from a North Macedonian travel agency had entered Bulgaria late on Monday from Turkey.
“Human mistake by the driver or a technical malfunction are the two initial versions for the accident,” he said.
The accident happened on Struma highway about 45 km (28 miles) west of Sofia around 2:00 a.m. (0000 GMT).
North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said the coach party was returning to Skopje from a weekend holiday trip to Istanbul.
“I am terrified. This is such a huge tragedy,” North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told private television channel BTV.
Flaming bus crash in Bulgaria kills 45 Macedonian tourists
https://arab.news/2bhqz
Flaming bus crash in Bulgaria kills 45 Macedonian tourists
- Bus was taking tourists home to North Macedonia from Turkey
- Survivors leapt from burning vehicle, 12 children among the dead — Bulgarian official
Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Endowment projects worth SR8bn launched in Makkah
Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Real Estate Company has announced the launch of several real estate projects belonging to the Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Endowment system in Makkah, with a total investment exceeding SR8 billion ($2.1 billion). These projects include commercial, residential, and hospitality developments, as well as strategic land plots, as part of the company’s commitment to supporting the Kingdom’s real estate sector and enhancing the quality of life in the holy city.
The announcement was made during a field tour by a delegation of high-level officials including Saleh Al-Rasheed, CEO of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites; Ihsan Bafakih, chairman of the board of directors of Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi Holding Company; Haitham Al-Fayez, chairman of Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Real Estate Company and CEO of Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Holding Company; Moath Al-Mukhudub, managing director and CEO of Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Real Estate Company; and Anas Mansour Abadi, CEO of real estate at Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Holding Company and representative of the Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Endowment, alongside members of the board of directors of both the holding and real estate companies and the executive team.
The tour included the launch of the Tilal Towers project, with an investment value of SR2 billion, featuring more than 2,500 hotel rooms, strengthening the hospitality sector in Makkah.
The delegation also visited the Tilal Village project, valued at SR2.8 billion. It is one of the prominent qualitative projects within the hospitality ecosystem in Makkah.
Furthermore, the visit covered the residential buildings within Tilal Village, comprising 828 units, with an investment of SR800 million. The delegation inspected the specialized hospital, medical complex housing, and the office and commercial plazas.
During the tour, a contract was signed for the Al-Rajhi Center project, valued at SR250 million, as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan.
The inspection also included the Al-Ukayshiyyah land, spanning 4 million square meters, and the Al-Ghazzawi project land, valued at SR250 million.
The tour concluded with prayers at the Aisha Al-Rajhi Mosque, the second-largest mosque in Makkah after the Grand Mosque, with a capacity for 50,000 worshippers.
This visit underscores the importance of these investments, which represent a clear direction toward enhancing the management of the endowment’s assets through diversification, redevelopment, and strategic expansion, in line with the development goals of the Makkah city and Saudi Vision 2030.
Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Real Estate, a subsidiary of Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi Holding Company, continues to provide innovative solutions to elevate the real estate sector to international standards.
