Swiss bus crash leaves scores of schoolchildren dead

The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France held a minute of silence on Wednesday, following a Swiss bus crash that killed at least 22 schoolchildren returning to Belgium from a ski holiday.

Reuters/Denis Balibouse

A total of 28 people died in the crash, including the two drivers, after a coach bus smashed into a tunnel wall on Tuesday night near Sierre, Switzerland, close to the Italian border.

Parents from Heverlee and Lommel were still in the dark on Wednesday about whether or not their children had survived. A reported 24 children were injured in the crash, on the bus carrying 52 passengers.

In Lommel in the northeast of Belgium, where some of the children went to school, Mayor Peter Vanvelthoven said a reception had been arranged for parents, children and teachers to deal with the tragedy.

Belgium’s Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said words were useless after such an event, telling national radio and TV networks, “This is a tragic day for all of Belgium.”

The children on the trip were aged 11 and 12, and had spent a week skiing in the Swiss Alps, in Val d'Anniviers.

Three buses were involved in the trip, with the other two reaching Belgium without incident.

Belgian Transport Minister Melchior Wathelet said that the transport company Toptours, involved in the crash, had “an excellent reputation” and had always respected the rules.

Wathelet told RTBF radio that he was at a loss for words and felt terribly moved by what had happened.

“We are all thinking like parents, with this terrible thought for the those parents who will not see their children coming back today," he said. "Yesterday evening, they were looking forward to seeing them and they won't see them again."