All services responded around three minutes after the first alert about the serious chain-reaction crashes on the Trakia motorway, said Krasimir Dimitrov, director of the National 112 System Directorate. Eleven people died in the incident, while 51 were injured.
“Around three minutes after the first alert was made, all services responded,” Dimitrov said on bTV’s “Face to Face” programme. According to him, the teams had already been dispatched at 7:08 a.m., while traffic on the motorway was stopped in both directions to prevent secondary accidents.
According to data presented by the director of 112, the first alert was received at 7:01 a.m. through the eCall system. It transmits GPS coordinates from the vehicle and is used in vehicles manufactured after 2018. The second alert was made by phone at 7:02 a.m., after which a further 42 alerts were relayed to the police, fire service and roadside assistance.
The publication also states that the first alert about the second chain-reaction crash was made at 7:09 a.m. This conflicts with the timeline presented in Dimitrov’s statement, according to which the first eCall was received at 7:01 a.m., while the telephone alert was received at 7:02 a.m.
Teams from three regions were dispatched to the scene
Dimitrov said that the regional services in Burgas, Yambol and Sliven responded immediately. Emergency teams began travelling at 7:08 a.m., while fire crews were also dispatched to the scene.
Because of the vehicles piled up, some of the ambulances were unable to reach the injured. Some of them had to be carried by hand, said the director of the National 112 System.
One of the most critical moments was the alert about a trapped child, which was subsequently not confirmed. A propane-butane tanker also posed a danger. According to Dimitrov, the driver reacted appropriately and prevented a spark from causing even more serious consequences.
The director of 112 also noted the actions of truck drivers who stopped in a way that limited the damage and reduced the risk to other road users.