Seven Greeks, fans of PAOK FC, were killed and three injured in a traffic accident in Romania on Tuesday. They were traveling from northern Greece to Lyon, France, for a match of their favorite football club on Thursday.
On Tuesday morning, the van they were traveling on, crashed head-on with a lorry on a road of the village Lugojel, in the Timis County of Romania.
Video: After the crash
All victims are Greeks, aged 25 to 30, from Katerini and Alexandria in western Macedonia. Due to a last minute cancellation of two more PAOK fans, the minibus traveled to Thessaloniki in central Macedonia where two young men went on board.
A shocking video documentary was recorded by a truck camera which was overtaken by the fatal van.
Τραγωδία στη Ρουμανία με εκδρομείς από Ελλάδα (φίλαθλοι του ΠΑΟΚ) – Πληροφορίες για 6 νεκρούς και τραυματίες σε τροχαίο. Στο θανατηφόρο τροχαίο στη Ρουμανία, ενεπλάκη μίνι μπας που εκτελούσε τη διαδρομή Ελλάδα – Γαλλία. Σκληρές εικόνες… pic.twitter.com/uhnF3lCaj0
— Stefanos Damianidis (@dstefanos) January 27, 2026
The van had left the town of Katerini in western Macedonia for Lyon, France, to watch PAOK’s Europa League match with Lyon on Thursday night, January 29.
According to the Romanian website digi24.ro, the accident occurred on the DN6 – E70 highway, one of the main road axes in the area.
The small bus coming from Greece and heading to France, with ten Greek passengers, attempted to overtake on the national highway near the Lugojelul area, at the entrance to the Lugoj ring road.
In his attempt to return to its lane, it collided with a tanker truck and was thrown in the opposite direction, where it collided with a truck.
Although he had enough time to return to his lane, as shown in the video below, the van went left. it is not clear why the driver, also Greek, lost control. without anyone knowing why the driver lost control and crashed on the truck.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in direct contact and cooperation with the Romanian authorities since the first moment the accident in Romania with the PAOK fans became known. Personnel from the Greek embassy in Bucharest immediately went to the scene to quickly carry out all the necessary procedures and monitor the progress of the injured.
Very sad but the driver is to blame