Country Romania Date 29 June 1980 Total number of deaths 48 | Damage A bus Location Romania Injuries 35 | |
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The Huțani bus accident was the deadliest road accident in Romanian history. That day, an overloaded bus (83 people on 40 seats) overturned in a five-meter deep swamp in the village of Huțani, commune of Vlădeni, Botoșani County. The accident killed at least 48 people and another 35 were wounded.
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The accident
June 29, an ordinary summer day of 1980, marked the history of Romania with the bloodiest road accident ever produced in the country. Then, a bus traveling on the route Suceava–Botoșani capsized off a bridge into a deep swamp. Of the 83 people on board, only 35 survived the accident. The bodies of 48 victims were first placed on the edge of a nearby pond and then transported to the morgue with a truck. The last bodies were removed from the water the next day, when the bus was recovered. The place where the accident occurred is now known as Bridge of the 48 crosses.
Reaction of authorities
The country heard about the accident from the radio broadcast service "Free Europe". A few days later, the Deputy Minister of Transport came to Botoșani, accompanied by a delegation of security officers. The only concrete result was the ban on using retreaded tires for buses. No word has been mentioned about compensation. Relatives have just received approval to erect crosses. Within days of the accident, the swamp was filled.
Now, the road is called "Road of death" because the large number of accidents that happen every year. To stem the number of tragedies, Traffic Police took a single measure, reducing the speed limit to 70 kilometers per hour.