Slight thaw after hundreds injured in falls in icy Bulgaria
Weather forecasters in Bulgaria said on December 17 2012 that temperatures were set to be slightly warmer after days that left streets and roads in many parts of the country with layers of black ice, leading to large numbers of injuries and traffic accidents.
Pirogov emergency hospital in Sofia was reported to have treated more than 1000 people in recent days for injuries after they slipped and fell on the ice in the Bulgarian capital city.
Injuries including broken arms, hands, legs and shoulder blades also were reported in the cities of Plovdiv, Pleven, Vidin and Rousse.
Rain was expected in most parts of Bulgaria on December 17. Major highways had been cleaned but motorists were advised to drive carefully.
On the morning of December 17, 27 passengers were injured after a bus on the Thessaloniki – Sofia route fell into a ravine in Filipovsko Chausse in Sofia. The cause of the accident, in which the bus left the road and overturned into the ravine, was not immediately clear.
In one of several road incidents over the past weekend, a BMW landed in a tree on a road near Kazanluk. Authorities were seeking the driver, who had fled, reports said.
(Photo: ivanmarn/sxc.hu)
