Polish coach carrying 53 people hit by truck in Hungary with six injured

Collision on Highway 86

A Polish passenger coach carrying 53 people was involved in a road collision in western Hungary during the early morning hours of Saturday, 5 September 2026. The incident occurred at approximately 1:00 AM along Highway 86 in the municipality of Zalalövő, situated in close proximity to the Hungarian borders with Slovenia and Austria. The vehicle was operating on an international return route to Poland, transporting a group of travelers returning home from a trip to Croatia. Hungarian police and emergency services were dispatched to the border-region corridor immediately after the initial call was placed. The crash began when the coach encountered an animal on the carriageway, initiating a chain of events that involved a trailing commercial vehicle on the transit route.

Stoppage and rear-end impact

The sequence of events unfolded after the Polish coach struck a sheep that had wandered directly onto the traffic lane of Highway 86. Following the initial collision with the animal, the bus driver brought the vehicle to a controlled stop on the road and immediately engaged the hazard warning lights to signal a hazard to following traffic. A Hungarian freight truck travelling in the same direction behind the coach was unable to brake in time to avert an impact. The trailing truck collided directly with the rear of the stationary Polish coach, causing physical damage to both vehicles. Six individuals sustained light injuries during the collision, including five passengers from the coach and the driver operating the Hungarian freight truck.

Passenger shelter and emergency response in Zalalövő

First responders, medical personnel, and local municipal authorities arrived on the scene to secure the roadway and examine all travelers involved in the collision. Medical staff confirmed that the six injured individuals suffered only minor cuts and bruises, with none requiring intensive emergency hospitalization. The remaining passengers who escaped the crash without physical harm were evacuated from Highway 86 to ensure their safety away from moving traffic. Municipal personnel transported the uninjured travelers to a local sports gymnasium in Zalalövő, where local officials established a temporary shelter. The group remained inside the gymnasium facility to rest while logistical arrangements were completed for replacement buses to arrive and carry the passengers home to Poland.

Previous bus disaster on the M3 motorway

The collision in western Hungary is the second road incident involving a Polish coach on Hungarian territory within a span of three weeks. On 16 August, at approximately 1:00 AM, another coach transporting 59 Polish citizens crashed on the M3 motorway near the town of Mezőkeresztes in eastern Hungary. That earlier vehicle was carrying pilgrims on their return route from Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina back to southeastern Poland. The August accident resulted in 12 fatalities, with all of the deceased identified as adult residents of Poland's Podkarpackie Voivodeship. While the disaster on the M3 motorway caused severe destruction and loss of life, the collision on Highway 86 near Zalalövő resulted in no fatalities among the 53 passengers on board.