At least six people have died and five others have been hurt in what authorities suspect was a ‘deliberate’ bus fire in Switzerland, coming only months after a fatal blaze at the Crans-Montana ski resort that killed more than 40 people.
Police said the incident happened in Kerzers, in the western canton of Fribourg, at about 6.25pm on Tuesday, marking the second major fire incident in the country to draw widespread attention in recent weeks.
In an update to the media, officials confirmed the fatalities and reported five injuries including one emergency responder. Three of the injured were taken to hospital in critical condition.
Authorities have not released the victims’ identities. It also remains unclear whether additional passengers were hurt, as police have not stated how many people were on the bus when it became ‘totally engulfed’ in flames.
Witnesses at the scene told Swiss newspaper Blick that a man on the bus allegedly ‘poured out petrol and set himself alight’, with other accounts also reporting the same sequence of events.
At a press conference, a spokesperson for Fribourg police said the fire may have been a ‘wilful act’, adding that officers had ‘information that a person is the cause of the fire’.
Police said at the time they were unable to confirm or reject the witness claims while initial enquiries continued.
A separate spokesperson also said the blaze could have been ‘started deliberately’, but would not say whether the suspected individual was among those killed or injured.
Investigators say they are considering multiple possibilities as the inquiry begins, and have not ruled out terrorism.
Schweizerische Post, which runs the bus service, said in a statement to Swiss paper Der Bund: “Our thoughts are with the injured and the families of the deceased.”
Swiss President Guy Parmelin also commented on the tragedy, saying: “It distresses and saddens me that yet more people in Switzerland have lost their lives in a serious fire.
“The background is being clarified. To the relatives of the deceased from Kerzers, I extend my condolences. And I think of the injured & the emergency services.”
The Kerzers incident is the second deadly fire in Switzerland to make international headlines this year, following a New Year’s Day disaster at Crans-Montana that left 41 people dead and 115 injured.
Officials previously said many of those killed in the January 1 fire were teenagers, and that a significant number were foreign nationals, including people from France and Italy.