The Sliven Holy Metropolis will pay in full for the funerals of four Samuilovo residents who died in the pile-ups on the Trakia motorway near Yambol, it said.
Two crashes happened in thick fog near the Zimnitsa junction on Tuesday 10 November, at about 7am. In all, 86 vehicles collided.
Where it began: 11 dead and more than 50 hurt in crashes on Trakia motorway, 13 in serious condition
The death toll has risen to 12. Eleven people died on the day of the crashes, and one seriously injured person died in hospital early today.
Five of the dead are from Sliven municipality: four from Samuilovo and one from the town. Councillors voted today to give each of their families a one-off payment of €2,000.
Straldzha council is paying for the funeral of one of its residents who died on the motorway. It is also collecting donations for his 15-year-old son, who has lost both parents.
Sliven Metropolitan Arseniy led the funeral service for the dead at the St Constantine and Helena church in Samuilovo. "Let us not put off love until tomorrow. Let us not hold back kind words," he urged. He said people should hug their loved ones, ask for forgiveness and forgive, and be together. Arseniy added that no one knows how many days they have left, but each one is a gift for which we should thank God.
The metropolitan also visited the injured at the Dr Ivan Seliminski regional hospital, together with Sliven mayor Stefan Radev. He wished them a quick recovery and thanked the doctors and medical staff for their care. Arseniy said the two men had come not only as representatives of the Church and local government, but as people called to share a neighbour's pain.
"When a human life is put to the test, no one should be left alone in their suffering," the metropolitan said.