SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
A bus of the company “Durmo Tours” transferring passengers on the relation Skopje-Gostivar crashed and flipped over near the village of Laskarci on Wednesday around 05:00 p.m. The police and firefighting vehicles arrived immediately at the scene of the accident in order to extract passengers from the crashed bus. The latest official information states there are 14 dead and over 30 injured passengers. Several media speculated the possible reasons for the accident, after which MoI called them to not spread unconfirmed information. Some media report that the reason for the accident is a flat tyre of the bus, while others question the health condition of the driver. All patients were rushed to the nearest hospitals in Skopje, and doctors are informing their relatives of their condition. Hospitals inform that they have sufficient reserves of blood if there is necessity of transfusion. Health Minister Venko Filipce visited the hospitalised passengers in the Skopje-based hospital “8 September”, and stated for the media that 7 of the deceased died immediately after the accident, while 7 passed away in the hospital due to the seriousness of their injuries. After an urgent governmental session on Wednesday night, PM Zoran Zaev expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, adding that all state capacities are engaged in providing assistance to the injured, as well as in the investigation over the entire accident. Thursday and Friday, 14 and 15 February will be proclaimed day of national mourning. Condolences for the families of the deceased passengers also came from President Gjorge Ivanov, as well as other state officials and party leaders.
