A bus fire in Switzerland killed at least six people and left three others hospitalized with severe injuries, police said Tuesday. They said they were investigating whether the blaze was set by someone on the bus.
Police spokesperson Frederic Papaux of Fribourg canton, or region, said the inferno broke out Tuesday evening on a bus in the town of Kerzers, about 15 miles west of Bern, the Swiss capital.
“At this stage, we have elements suggesting a deliberate act by a person who was inside the bus,” Papaux said at a news conference, according to Reuters news agency.
Police would not elaborate on why they believe the fire could have been deliberately started. Fribourg police said in a statement that a criminal investigation had been opened by public prosecutors “to determine the exact circumstances of the tragedy.”
Authorities said they could not immediately confirm reports that a person had doused themselves in gasoline, CBS News partner BBC News reported.
Papaux did not say how many people were on the bus, noting that people were fleeing the vehicle when first responders arrived, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP
Images from the scene on Swiss media showed flames tearing through the bus.
“After rushing to the scene, rescue teams noted that the vehicle was totally engulfed in flames,” the regional government said in a statement.
Ambulance and helicopter teams ferried three injured people with severe injuries to hospitals, while two others were treated on site, police said.
The regional transport bus is operated by PostBus, which is affiliated with the national postal service. Some 500,000 people, including schoolchildren, use them daily, according to AFP.
“I am shocked and saddened that people in Switzerland have once again lost their lives in a serious fire,” 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.”
Earlier this year, a fire that broke out at a New Year’s party at Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana left 40 people dead and over 100 injured. Investigators have said that blaze started when sparklers on Champagne bottles ignited the bar’s ceiling.
