At least six people died and five others were injured when a bus caught fire in the Swiss town of Kerzers on Tuesday evening, in what police suspect may have been a deliberate act. The blaze broke out around 6.25pm on the main street of Kerzers, about 20 kilometres west of the capital Bern.
Fribourg cantonal police sergeant Frederic Papaux confirmed the casualties, with three of the injured in a serious condition. “The police are currently treating the fire as a man-made incident, and even a deliberate act,” he said, though he declined to provide further details. Investigators are looking into reports that a person may have poured fuel on themselves, according to police spokesperson Christa Bielmann, who added it was too early to say if the incident was terror-related.
Videos on social media showed flames several metres high bursting from the bus windows and thick black smoke rising into the sky. Passengers were seen fleeing the burning vehicle, some panicked and injured. Emergency services arrived to find the bus completely engulfed in flames, and firefighters conducted rescue and extinguishing operations. A security perimeter was set up, and the burnt-out shell was later screened off behind white tarpaulins.
The bus was a PostBus, a distinctive yellow service used by around half a million people daily in Switzerland, including many schoolchildren. PostBus expressed deep shock, offering condolences and announcing psychological support for staff. The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, said he was “shocked and saddened” by the tragedy, which follows a deadly bar fire in Crans-Montana on New Year's Day that killed 41 people.
A criminal investigation has been opened by public prosecutors, and police have appealed for the public to avoid the area as recovery and security operations continue.
