Miklós Soltész, the state secretary for church and ethnic relations, told an event marking the anniversary of a Polish bus accident in Balatonberény, western Hungary, that "Poles can rely on us in all noble causes", and no matter what history brings over the centuries, "even when others try to set us against each other, we belong together".
Soltész said that the accident of a bus carrying pilgrims to Medjugorje claimed 20 lives and several people were seriously injured. He thanked all those involved in the rescue operations at the time, as well as the Catholic church, local officials and representatives of the Polish minority living in Hungary who visit the site each year to pay respects to the victims.
Marcin Bobinski, Poland's consul in Budapest, thanked that a memorial stands now in the location where the accident happened 23 years ago, and he also thanked again all the help that the pilgrims in trouble received from the Hungarian fire services, ambulance, police and doctors.