Two Romanian women and four 18-year old students died in an accident near Stara Zagora, Dnevnik daily reported, citing the local office of Civil Protection National Service (CPNS) on March 7 2009.

The accident took place at about 10pm on March 6. According to initial information, the students were riding in a Volkswagen Golf. Its driver obtained his licence just three months ago. Reportedly, he did not come to a complete halt at a stop sign. Then, the car was hit by a passing bus that had Turkish registration plates and more than 30 passengers on board.

All four youths were students at Romain Rolland high school, an establishment known for its proficiency at teaching foreign languages and reputed to be the best in town. Bulgarian National Radio quoted its principal Vanya Sotirova as saying that all four were very good students. Before the accident, on that very same day, they had been attending classes until about 7pm.

No other passengers on the bus were reported injured. The remaining passengers were transferred in another bus sent by the carrier company. Teams of CPNS had worked on the scene for 10 hours, trying to pull the students out of the wreckage by cutting metal.

Dnevnik daily reported that the ring-road to Kazanluk has been closed.

Svetlin Tanchev, mayor of Stara Zagora, has declared a day of mourning on March 8, which traditionally has been celebrated as Women's Day. All public activities scheduled for that day have also been cancelled.