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A BUS CARRYING more than 50 tourists crashed into a concrete wall in a Swiss Alps tunnel last night, killing 28 people.
Most of the victims were Belgian and Dutch children returning from a ski vacation to Val d’Anniviers. BBC reports relatives of the victims have flown to Switzerland with many still unsure whether their children are dead or alive.
Swiss police have confirmed that the vehicle was not speeding and everyone was wearing seat belts.
The bus was carrying students, who were all about age 12-years-old, from two different Belgian schools – Stekske primary in Lommel, near the Dutch border, and St Lambertus in Heverlee, near Leuven.
It it crashed shortly after 9pm on a highway near the southern town of Sierre, Switzerland.
The horrific accident in the short Tunnel de Geronde left the front of the bus mangled and a number of people were trapped inside. Twenty-two school children and six adults, including the driver were killed.
Police said 21 of the dead were Belgian and seven were Dutch.
A further 24 children were hospitalised. Of the injured, 17 are Belgian, three are Dutch, one is German, one is Polish and two others have yet to be identified. None have life-threatening injuries.
Authorities were still trying to work out how a modern bus, a rested driver and a safe tunnel could add up to such a tragedy.
A Swiss prosecutor said video cameras in the tunnel captured the accident. Olivier Elsig, prosecutor for the canton of Valais, told reporters the children on the bus were wearing seat belts, no other vehicle was involved and it was not speeding.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday in Sion, the capital of Valais, he said investigators were looking at three possible causes for the crash – a technical problem with the bus, a health problem with the driver, or human error.
He said the seatbelts wouldn’t have helped much due to the severity of the crash and an autopsy will be performed on the driver.
“We will examine everything to find out what happened,” Elsig promised.
“My first thoughts go to the victims and their families,” said Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, echoing the words of King Albert.
Calling a day of mourning, he described today as “a black day for our country, all Belgians share our immense sadness”.
Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf also flew to Sion to pay her respects to the victims, survivors and rescue officials. The Swiss parliament held a minute of silence for the victims.
Widmer-Schlumpf assured Belgium her country would do everything in its power to support the injured and the families of the dead. A crisis centre has been set up for families.
The two other buses that were hired by the same group have returned to Belgium safely.
Earlier today, the European Parliament observed a minute’s silence.
-Additional reporting by AP
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He’ll be out by the weekend.Otherwise the cartel will cause havoc.
@Kieran Byrne: did he really have much of a life choice though in fairness. Not condoning what he did but his life was kinda laid out for him.
Washington accuses the cartel of exploiting the opioid epidemic and introducing fentanyl yet they created the market with a series of laws making it near impossible for doctors to prescribe opioids. The rug was pulled from chronic pain patients and anyone with a prescription opioid addiction overnight. In the years following, the black market predictably exploded and just as predictably, so have the deaths which continue to rise year on year at a staggering rate. This is what happens when we create unregulated markets for criminals gangs to run and profit from. At some point we’re going to have to grow up and accept that the war on drugs is a failure on every conceivable level. Drugs won and huge numbers are dying while we wait for politicians to catch up. It’s obscene and it’s criminal.
@Declan Doherty: if you have not seen it, watch the Tv series ‘dopesick’ starring Michael Keaton. It is very good drama about opioid addiction
@James Beattie: Been meaning to watch it. Is it on Netflix?
This war on drugs is lost……..let’s have limited legitimacy and put this cartels out a business..over to you joe,America are the main buyers legalisation has worked when tried.something has to be done to stop the 100,000 + death’s
Arrest the rich who are using and you’ll stop the flow
@Paul Gorry: what do you mean, arrest the middle class? Sounds like the new order put forth by Xi
@Ian James Burgess, it would cost too much. I see Prince Harry admitted taking it, will he be arrested or locked up.
@Tomaldo: nope, he’ll be applauded as the refreshing take on monarchy, even though we know he essentially supported criminals, yes folks everytime you buy cocaine I hate to tell you… But….
Getting murdered for not singing at The Mouses wedding!!!! What would he do to Daniel O’Donnell ?
@Pete O’Reilly: ask him to fix his boiler
@kevin mc cormack: Daniel is not gas certified Kevin. Me granny only told me yesterday.
@SPQH, then why not change the law?
@Stephen Walshe, then he’ll be replaced by another smelly rat
Smelly little rat got caught he should be hung in public.
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