Bulgaria bus fire: At least 46 people including children killed after blaze breaks out on highway

AT LEAST 46 people – including children – have been killed after a blaze broke out on a bus in Bulgaria. The tragedy struck on a motorway at 2am local time near the village of Bosnek, southwest of the capital Sofia. ReutersAt least 46 people have died – including children – in a bus fire in Bulgaria[/caption] Bulgaria’s ministry official Nikolai Nikolov confirmed that 12 children were among the victims of the horror bus blaze. He said that either the “bus caught fire and crashed, or crashed and then caught fire” while on the Struma highway. Footage showed the burnt-out bus surrounded by firefighters and emergency crews who had rushed to the scene which was sealed off. The cause of the crash and fire is still being investigated – but local reports say it may have hit a curb or a guardrail. Seven people have been taken to hospital with burns after jumping from the burning bus – and 46 people have died following the tragedy. There were 53 people on board the bus, officials said. Most read in The Sun HEATING'S CHEATING I'm A Celeb contestants' have SECRET hot water supply & cigarette breaks BACK AT IT Grealish breaks silence after love triangle claims as he misses Man City win 'DO BETTER' I'm A Celeb viewers demand apology after ITV airs Arlene Phillips’ OCD 'joke' shrewd move EuroMillions winner builder who scooped £105m set to net ANOTHER £90m LIGHTS OUT Energy firm Bulb COLLAPSES with 1.7million customers affected no kidding I work in a nursery and parents always say the same annoying thing to us North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said the coach party was returning to the capital Skopje from a weekend holiday trip to the Turkish city of Istanbul. A hospital official said the survivors receiving treatment were all in a stable condition. But the horrific scenes from the site of the fire were described by Bulgarian Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov, who said the victims’ bodies were “completely burnt out.” He added: “It’s a terrifying picture in there. I haven’t seen anything like that before. Bulgaria’s national police chief Stanimir Stanev said: “Of the victims … 12 in total were under the age of 18. “Initial information shows that 52 people were travelling in the bus, including two drivers with Macedonian nationality and 50 passengers with Albanian nationality.” More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online. Thesun.co.uk is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.