BERN — Several people have been killed after a tourist coach carrying 48 people crashed and overturned on a mountain road in Switzerland.
Helicopters and paramedics raced to the scenic Engadine valley in the Alps as they desperately pulled survivors from the wreckage.
A huge rescue operation was launched with police confirming “multiple emergency services” were on the scene.
The bus overturned between Susch and Zernez in Graubünden — also known as Grisons — late Thursday afternoon.
A police spokesperson said that the coach collided with the crash barrier and then overturned. No other vehicles were believed to be involved.
Some 48 Dutch passengers were on board the bus, according to a spokeswoman for the General Dutch Association of Travel Companies on behalf of tour operator OAD.
The spokesperson told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf they could not yet say how many people had been killed or injured.
Images on Swiss news sites show a coach lying on its side beside a narrow country road on which stand numerous ambulances while groups of rescuers work at the scene.
The coach reportedly left the Netherlands on Monday and was on a day trip to Switzerland from Austria when the crash happened.
In a post on X, Swiss President Guy Parmelin said he was “deeply shocked” by the incident and offered his “sincere condolences” to the families of the victims.
Parmelin said there will be a “comprehensive” investigation into what happened.
Zernez is the entry point for visitors to the Swiss National Park, a vast Alpine reserve stretching more than 100 sq km (40 sq miles) across the mountainous Engadine valley.
Source: Saudi Gazette