The bus was carrying Polish pilgrims to the Marian shrine of Međugorje, southern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Božinović said that the personal effects of the passengers were stored at the Varaždin Police Department and would be released upon request from official institutions.
He said that Polish police officers, present in Croatia as part of the programme “Croatia, a safe tourist destination”, assisted in facilitating communication with the crash victims and gathering information for the Polish Embassy.
The Varaždin County Red Cross has organised counselling for the victims and, if necessary, for emergency services staff who were the first to arrive at the scene.
Based on the information exchanged with the Polish police, “44 persons were on board the bus, 42 passengers and two drivers. 32 persons are currently hospitalised and 12 were killed,” Božinović said.
Eleven passengers have been admitted to Varaždin General Hospital. “Five of them are in intensive care, three are in neurosurgery and three in trauma. Two patients have been operated on and two are having a thoracic drain inserted. Neither of them is in a life-threatening condition. All are stable,” the hospital’s director Damir Poljak said.
The on-site investigation, led by a county deputy prosecutor in cooperation with the police, found that the driver had lost control of the steering wheel and skidded off the road. Post-mortems were ordered for those killed and blood alcohol tests for the drivers, the State Attorney’s Office (DORH) said on its website.
