A devastating crash on the Egnatia Highway has left three people dead and two others seriously injured after a truck ploughed into stationary vehicles caught in a 600-metre traffic jam.
The collision caused an immediate blaze which engulfed two cars. A 59-year-old driver, a 61-year-old front-seat passenger, and a 57-year-old woman were burned alive.
Police sources said the victims were Albanian nationals with residence permits in Greece, living in Athens. A fourth passenger, a 49-year-old woman, managed to escape and is being treated at Komotini Hospital.
In the vehicle ahead were their Greek relatives, including a 36-year-old driver, a 28-year-old passenger, and two children aged four and five. The families had allegedly travelled together to Evros for a wedding and were returning to Athens when the crash occurred.
The Bulgarian truck driver was also seriously injured and underwent surgery; his front-seat passenger remains hospitalised in stable condition.
Emergency crews responded with 22 firefighters, nine fire trucks, three ambulances, and police units. The fire spread to nearby farmland before being contained. Traffic on the Komotini–Xanthi stretch of the highway was temporarily diverted until after 4pm.
Source: Protothema.gr
