Regional governor Georgi Chalakov told a briefing that the Road Infrastructure Agency is expected to propose extra steps to make the Trakia motorway in Yambol region safer after the 86-vehicle pile-up. The regional administration will help carry them out as far as its powers allow.

The crash happened on Tuesday, 10 November. Chalakov declared a partial state of disaster because of the crash, and it took effect the same day at 7:30am in the municipalities of Yambol, Tundzha and Straldzha.

How it all started: Partial state of emergency in three Yambol area municipalities after Trakia motorway pile-up

Teams and equipment from Yambol, Sliven and Burgas joined the rescue. Emergency medical teams arrived in about 10 minutes, and Chalakov said police and firefighters also came on time.

Ambulances could not reach all the injured because cars blocked by the collisions had closed the road. Traffic was reorganised so that crews could get to them.

All the injured were evacuated and taken to hospital within an hour to an hour and a half. Medical teams decided where each person should go. Most are in hospitals in Sliven, the rest in Yambol.

The weather cannot be controlled, but the institutions reacted quickly and in a co-ordinated way after the alert, Chalakov said he believes.

Asked about toll system camera footage that shows fog about two hours before the crash, he said the footage cannot show for certain how thick the fog was. "At least what I saw on the cameras is that visibility was at least 70-80 metres," Chalakov said.

On the day of the crash, BG-ALERT was activated at 8:10am and sent warnings to people in the area. Asked at the briefing why such messages are not sent when there is fog, Chalakov replied that the system is switched on for certain events and under a set protocol.

Chalakov is holding meetings with the executive branch and other institutions, including on measures to prevent similar crashes.

Chalakov also said the aim is to move Yambol hospital into its new building by spring 2027. He said doctors and patients will then have much better conditions. The hospital's buildings and equipment have been a problem for years.