The first footage of bus 204 following yesterday's serious accident on Tsarigradsko Shose Boulevard has been released. The vehicle is currently at the Druzhba bus depot.
Recordings from the bus's cameras have been seized and handed over to the relevant authorities.
Bus Crashes Through Safety Barrier on Sofia’s Tsarigradsko Shose Boulevard, Four Taken to Hospital
A passenger on board the bus spoke to BNT's Around the World and At Home.
Katerina, passenger: "Panic broke out, there was no way it wouldn't, because I was actually in the middle of the bus. Then it started to tear apart, and we could see the asphalt, and we thought we were going to fall out."
Katerina was travelling on bus 204 when, according to her account, shortly before the incident the driver overtook another bus.
Katerina, passenger: "The rear part of the bus simply started to swing around and we were moving like a snake, it was zigzagging. The driver lost control of the bus itself, and we crashed. Luckily, there was the concrete barrier, which stopped us from falling off the bridge."
She recalled the moment of impact with the concrete barrier and the guardrail.
Katerina, passenger: "The guardrail was not even felt. It was basically like a wafer sheet, and luckily the concrete was there to save us."
According to initial information, the driver claims that the accident was caused by brake failure. However, vehicle expert Rumen Dunev said this was unlikely, as in the event of a braking system malfunction on buses, the system locks and the vehicle itself slows down.
Twenty-four hours after the serious crash, the bus remains at the Druzhba depot. The damage caused by the collision with the concrete structures and the guardrail is most visible in the lower part of the vehicle, with bent metal and a torn articulated section.
Rumen Dunev, vehicle expert: "In my view, the main cause is either a technical malfunction or driver distraction, and perhaps both. The appointed vehicle engineering examinations will establish this during the investigation."
It has emerged that the bus is more than 20 years old and has travelled more than one million kilometres. However, it is not the only vehicle of this age still operating in Sofia.
Ivan Takov, Chair of the Sofia Municipal Council Transport Committee: "There are still around 40 such buses operating on public transport routes. More than 100 buses in total are over 20 years old. This is precisely why, from the beginning of our mandate, we have insisted on replacing vehicles in the surface public transport system. Ageing equipment creates conditions for more and more accidents, as we are seeing both in electric transport and bus transport."
Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov said on BNT's The Day Begins that the case demonstrates the need for a thorough expert analysis rather than rushed conclusions.
Ivan Shishkov, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works:
"The first impact was with the concrete barrier, before the bus even reached the guardrail. This also demonstrates the negative effect of concrete barriers in certain situations. That is why I say that concrete structures are installed on bridges and in places where a vehicle must not be allowed to fall."
The expert examinations will determine who carried out the bus's technical inspection and where it took place.
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