A bus fire that killed six people in western Switzerland was caused by a 'marginalised and disturbed' Swiss man who set himself alight, prosecutors have said. The vehicle, operated by the postal service PostBus, burst into flames on Tuesday evening in Kerzers, a town in Fribourg canton.
Fribourg public prosecutor Raphael Bourquin told a news conference that a witness saw a Swiss man in his 60s board the bus carrying bags, then douse himself with a flammable substance and set himself on fire. The man, from Berne canton, had been reported missing by his family. Bourquin said there was no evidence of a terrorist act, and the man was believed to be among the dead.
Five other people were injured in the blaze. Police said two victims were in a serious condition, while a third was able to return home overnight. The victims were aged between 17 and 65; their nationalities were not disclosed. The bus was not electric, ruling out a battery fire, according to local official Romain Collaud.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin expressed condolences, saying he was 'shocked and saddened' by the tragedy, which came just weeks after a fire at a bar in Crans-Montana killed 41 people on New Year's Eve. Witnesses described seeing flames shooting from the bus windows and hearing tyres explode. Some bystanders tried to break windows to free passengers.
PostBus CEO Stefan Regli called the incident a 'terrible tragedy'. The company's yellow buses are a common sight in rural Switzerland, carrying about 500,000 passengers daily.
