A fatal accident occurred on Monday afternoon (August 18) at the 537.5 km mark of the Egnatia Highway, near the Iasmos toll station, when a truck collided with two cars that were stopped in a 600-meter queue. The crash left three people dead and two others seriously injured.
The vehicles burst into flames after the collision, resulting in the incineration of three out of four occupants in one of the cars.
According to reports, the truck first struck the vehicle in front of it, which immediately caught fire. Inside were four Albanian residents of Athens: a 59-year-old man (driver), a 61-year-old man (front passenger), a 57-year-old woman, and a 49-year-old woman. The first three died in the blaze, while the 49-year-old woman managed to escape on her own.
The second vehicle involved carried four Greek relatives of the victims, also residents of Athens: a 36-year-old driver, a 28-year-old front passenger, and two boys aged 4 and 5. All four were taken to Komotini Hospital with minor injuries.
The Bulgarian truck driver was reported to be seriously injured. The fire also spread to farmland alongside the Egnatia Highway.
Emergency Response
Shortly after 16:00, the temporary diversion of traffic on the Komotini–Xanthi section of the Egnatia Highway ended. Traffic had been rerouted via the Komotini–Porto Lagos–Xanthi national road.
At the scene, authorities deployed 22 firefighters with 9 fire engines, 3 EKAB ambulances, and police units.
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