Poland evacuates injured pilgrims from Hungary bus crash as prosecutors seek trial transfer

Repatriation flights to Rzeszów

On Wednesday, 19 August, Polish Medical Air Rescue (LPR) transported 12 injured passengers from Hungary to Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport. Two transport planes made two return flights each on the Debrecen to Jasionka route, carrying three patients on each leg. The final medical flight landed shortly after 16:00, after which ambulances transferred the patients to hospitals across Rzeszów. This operation followed an initial evacuation on Monday evening, when 21 injured travelers returned to Poland. As of Wednesday afternoon, five Polish citizens remained hospitalized in Hungary, including four whose medical conditions prevented immediate air transfer.

Investigation and driver detention

Judicial proceedings are advancing concurrently in Hungary and Poland following the arrest of the bus driver. On Tuesday, a district court in Miskolc placed the driver in temporary custody for 30 days until 18 September, based on allegations of involuntarily causing a traffic accident that resulted in multiple fatalities. Investigators suspect the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The District Prosecutor's Office in Krosno opened a parallel investigation, started questioning victims on Tuesday, and submitted a formal request to take over the case from Hungarian authorities. District prosecutor Marta Kolendowska-Matejczuk outlined the legal reasoning for seeking jurisdiction in Poland.

In view of the subject of the proceedings, in particular considering that the suspect and the victims in the case are exclusively Polish citizens, a decision was made in this unit to submit an application to the Polish Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General to take over the prosecution from the Hungarian side, which is justified by the interest of the Polish justice system.

Crash circumstances and witness accounts

The crash occurred around 1:00 on Sunday on Hungary's M3 motorway near the town of Mezőkeresztes. The vehicle carried 59 Polish nationals, including 57 passengers and two drivers, who were returning from a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The relief driver and travel organizer, Grzegorz Wojtoń, had handed over driving duties approximately three and a half hours prior and was resting in the vehicle's sleeping cabin. He reported that the bus slid down a steep embankment rather than rolling over, leaving the vehicle about two kilometers short of an intended rest stop. Wojtoń described the moment of impact before escaping through the emergency exits.

When the bus started to tilt and hit, things started happening to me in that cabin like in a washing machine. I realized that there was a tragedy, an accident. There is a moment when you have to escape from that cabin.

Casualties and diplomatic support

The crash killed 12 people on impact, all of whom were adult residents of Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Authorities confirmed that 10 passengers suffered very serious injuries and 37 others sustained light injuries, with the vast majority coming from Podkarpackie and two from Małopolskie. Polish chargé d'affaires Jacek Śladewski and honorary consul Krzysztof Filipowicz visited the remaining patients admitted to Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county hospitals in Miskolc and Eger. Hungarian police reported that forensic autopsies on all 12 deceased victims are scheduled to conclude on Friday, 21 August, allowing cross-border transport of the bodies back to Poland once final paperwork is finalized.