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Geneva: At least 28
Belgians, including 22 children, were killed in a horrific
accident inside a tunnel in Switzerland, police said Wednesday.
Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said it was a "tragic day" for
his country.
The accident took place around 9.15 p.m. Tuesday near Sierre town
when 50 Belgian students, all around 12 years of age, and two
drivers in the bus were returning from a ski tour in Switzerland,
said police officer Christian Varone.
Twenty-four others were injured in the accident, Xinhua reported.
The school children were from the towns of Lommel and Heverlee in
Belgium. BBC said the children had spent a week in Val d'Anniviers
in the Swiss Alps.
The bus hit the left side of the tunnel, veered right and crashed
into an emergency lane inside the tunnel.
The Belgian prime minister expressed his dismay over the tragedy.
"It is a tragic day for the whole of Belgium," he said.
Belgian ambassador to Switzerland Jan Lunks said the whole of
Belgium was shocked, and expressed gratitude to the timely rescue
mission by the Swiss authorities.
Eight helicopters and 12 ambulances were mobilised to rush the
injured to hospital.
Police has also set up a team to provide psychological assistance
to the children who survived the accident.
Town prosecutor Oliver Elsig said the bus was in good condition
when the accident occurred.
Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf sent her condolences to
Belgium over the fatal accident.
Widmer-Schlumpf said Switzerland will make best efforts to help
the injured and their families as well as the families of the
victims.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also sent his condolences to
Belgium.
"I would, as president, present our condolences to our Belgian
friends. Imagine these families, their pain ... There is no more
appalling tragedies," Sarkozy said in an interview with local
broadcaster Europe 1.
The Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was shocked by
the accident.
"For everyone who is involved, this is an unimaginable tragedy.
For the children in the bus and their parents in the first place,
now our thoughts are with them," Xinhua quoted Rutte as telling
Dutch news agency ANP.
There were nine Dutch children in the bus, eight of whom living in
Belgium and one living in the Netherlands. Their fate was still
unknown.
Rutte hoped the names of the victims will be known as soon as
possible. "That will put an end to the uncertainty that exists now
in many families," he said.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said there were three
buses and only one was in an accident.
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