Slovakia in national mourning

A day of national mourning is in place on Friday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in Slovakia. It is being held in response to the fatal bus crash near Nitra, western Slovakia, on Wednesday that claimed the lives of at least twelve people, including four minors. On Wednesday afternoon, a lorry loaded with stones collided with a bus on a local route that was mainly taking young people home from schools. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) and President Zuzana Caputova lit candles at the memorial site and at high school where the majority of the passed students studied. Subsequently, top state representatives moved to the village of Kolinany where 9 of victims of the tragedy lived. The Culture Ministry asked all the organisations under its remit to honour the memory of the victims by keeping a minute of silence. A ban on gambling is in effect during the national mourning. Therefore, the state lottery company Tipos is limiting its activities on Friday. Slovak televisions have changed their broadcasting in connection with the national mourning. Slovakia has held periods of national mourning nine times since it became independent in 1993.