Slovakia Holding National Mourning to Honour Memory of Bus Crash Victims

Bratislava, November 15 (TASR) - A day of national mourning is being held in Slovakia in response to the fatal bus crash near Nitra on Wednesday that claimed the lives of at least twelve people, including four minors. The period of national morning is in place on Friday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Twelve people were killed on Wednesday afternoon when a lorry loaded with stones collided with a bus on the local Nitra-Jelenec route that was mainly carrying young people home from schools in Nitra. According to preliminary information, the accident was probably caused by the overloaded lorry, which was heading downhill. It began to skid on a gentle bend before hitting the side of the bus, which was travelling in the opposite direction. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) and President Zuzana Caputova will light candles at the memorial site on Cintorinska 4 and at high school at Parovska street in Nitra. Subsequently, they will move to the village of Kolinany where the highest number of victims of the tragedy was resided. The Culture Ministry asked all the organisations under its remit to honour the memory of the victims by keeping the minute of silence. A ban on gambling is in effect during the national mourning. Therefore, the state lottery company Tipos will limit its activities on Friday. Slovak televisions have changed their broadcasting in connection with the national mourning. Public-service RTVS, as well as private Markiza and JoJ televisions have announced they won't broadcast entertainment programs on Friday. Slovakia has held periods of national mourning nine times since it became independent in 1993, with the most recent occasion being in 2016 after the country's first modern president Michal Kovac died. A day of national mourning related to a traffic accident was also declared in 2009 following a train-bus crash in Polomka (Banska Bystrica region), which also claimed the lives of twelve people. ko