A bus caught fire in western Switzerland on Tuesday killing at least six people and injuring five others, in what police said may have been a deliberate act.
The fire broke out on a bus in the main street of the small town of Kerzers, about 20 km (12 miles) west of the Swiss capital Berne, at about 6.25pm (5.25pm GMT).
Videos circulating on social media showed flames several metres high bursting from the windows and black smoke rising into the sky. Passengers were seen escaping from the burning bus, panicked and injured, officials said.
The fire “left at least six dead and five injured, three of them seriously”, Fribourg cantonal police sergeant Frederic Papaux said.
“The police are currently treating the fire as a man-made incident, and even a deliberate act,” he said, without providing further details.
“There were no other vehicles involved – only the bus. And that bus caught fire … we are currently trying to determine the precise reason why this happened,” Papaux told reporters. He could not say how many people were on the bus at the time.
Investigators were looking into reports that a person had poured fuel on themselves, said Christa Bielmann, another local police spokesperson. It was too early to say whether the incident was terror-related, she told a press conference.
In a statement, Fribourg police said a criminal investigation had been opened by public prosecutors.
The burnt-out shell of the bus was screened off behind white tarpaulins set up across the road, according to an AFP journalist. Police were standing guard at the tape cordoning off the scene. Firefighters and fire trucks were also present.
“Emergency services rushed to the scene and found the vehicle completely engulfed in flames. Firefighters carried out rescue and extinguishing operations. A security perimeter was set up,” the police statement said.
Several ambulances and a helicopter were sent to the scene and three injured people were taken to hospital. Two other people were examined on site but did not need hospital treatment.
It is the second major multiple-casualty fire in Switzerland in less than three months.
In the early hours of 1 January, a bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana caught fire as people celebrated the New Year. A total of 41 people died, with another 115 injured.
“I am shocked and saddened that people in Switzerland have once again lost their lives in a serious fire,” the Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, said on X.
“The circumstances are being investigated. I would like to express my condolences to the families of those who died in Kerzers. My thoughts are also with the injured and the emergency services.”
The bus involved was a PostBus, a feature of Swiss rural life.
The distinctive yellow buses serve more remote areas, connecting them with towns, while carrying letters and parcels.
They are used by around half a million people every day, notably schoolchildren.
“This tragic news deeply affects us all. Our thoughts are with the injured and the families of the deceased. A psychological support team will be available to staff” as of Wednesday, PostBus said, according to Switzerland’s Keystone-ATS news agency.
Police have said recovery and security operations were ongoing in Kerzers and appealed to the public to stay away from the area.
With Reuters
