Authorities in Bulgaria are investigating a bus crash that killed at least 27 people and injured more than 40 others Friday morning when the bus carrying bus passengers from the Bulgarian town of Oha to an ethnic Turkish village in the Black Sea town of Blagoevgrad crossed the road in a bend and plunged into a ravine.
Officials say the bus overturned and hit several vehicles before hitting a tree and going down an embankment.
The crash occurred on a stretch of highway near Roslin, a few miles from the Turkish border. Rescuers were still searching for bodies trapped in the wreckage late Friday.
Two people remain hospitalized.
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No group immediately claimed responsibility for the crash. The bus driver, 37-year-old Kyril Herati, told The Associated Press that the driver of another vehicle tried to run him off the road but that he did not react quickly enough. He said he was worried he would not be able to work in Turkey due to his injuries.
Ambulances, fire engines and police vehicles rushed to the scene, as divers searched the river for victims trapped inside the bus.
In 2016, a bus carrying private passengers returning from Israel plunged from a highway bridge into a gorge in southern Israel, killing 27 people and injuring 23 others.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.