TEMESVÁR – Seven fans of the Greek football club PAOK Thessaloniki lost their lives in a serious traffic accident in Romania.
According to the DPA agency, the tragedy happened on the way to Thursday’s Europa League match at Olympique Lyon.
Greek television broadcast a video showing how a minibus carrying PAOK supporters collided head-on with a truck after an overtaking maneuver. The vehicle was completely destroyed after the impact. The accident occurred near the western Romanian city of Timișoara. Employees of the Greek embassy traveled to the crash site. Sources close to PAOK said that representatives of the club were also on the way.
Tragedy in Romania: A van carrying fans of the Greek club PAOK crashed into an oncoming truck after attempting an overtaking maneuver
Seven people have died, and three others are injured and in critical condition
The victims were traveling to France to support their team in an… pic.twitter.com/WZQviGU4Rq
— Daily Romania (@daily_romania) January 27, 2026
An unimaginable tragedy shocked Greece
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. “I was deeply shocked to learn of the tragic accident in Romania in which seven young compatriots lost their lives,” he wrote on Facebook. The Greek Embassy is in close contact with the local authorities and will provide them with all possible support, he added.
“Today an unimaginable tragedy happened. I am extremely shocked by the unjust loss of these young people, fans of our beloved club who came to support our PAOK,” club owner Ivan Savvidis said in his statement.
According to the fan clubs to which the victims belonged, the seven PAOK supporters deliberately chose a longer route from Thessaloniki through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria and Italy to France. Their goal was to travel exclusively through the countries of the European Union and thus avoid border controls in the Balkan countries, which do not belong to the EU. It was not clear on Tuesday whether the match at the Olympique Stadium would take place, Greek media reported. Hundreds of PAOK fans have meanwhile canceled their planned trips for Thursday’s duel.
Lyon, for whom Slovakian goalkeeper Dominik Greif is catching, leads the European League table before the final league round and is already certain of direct progress to the round of 16 EL. PAOK is in 12th place.
- Author: © List/
- VIDEO: X/Daily Romania
- Source: TASR
