KERZERS, Switzerland – At least six people died and three were injured in a bus fire in a small Swiss town thought to have been caused by someone setting fire to themself.
Police said the bus became engulfed in flames on Tuesday evening on a road in Kerzers, a town of about 5,000 inhabitants in the western canton of Fribourg, about 20 km (12 miles) from the Swiss capital Bern.
“At this stage, we have elements suggesting a deliberate act by a person who was inside the bus,” said Frederic Papaux, a spokesperson for Fribourg police.
Investigators were looking into reports that a person had poured fuel on themselves, said Christa Bielmann, another local police spokesperson. It was too early to say whether the incident was terrorism-related, she told a press conference.
“We have no indication that suggests we might be dealing with a terrorist attack,” Romain Collaud, a local politician in Fribourg, told the Swiss-French broadcaster RTS.
Three injured people were taken to hospital, police said.
Passengers had been seen escaping from the burning bus, panicked and injured, Papaux said. Video after the flames were extinguished showed the charred remains of the yellow vehicle.
Swiss media outlet 20 Minutes said it had seen a video from the scene in which an injured person said: “A man set himself on fire. He poured gasoline over himself and then lit himself.”
Zeynel Teke, 61, was working at his food stall opposite when flames erupted from the bus and it stopped in front of him.
Two or three people came out of the vehicle, and he ran to help, using his hand to put out flames on one woman. He went to get his fire extinguisher but the flames were too hot to get close enough to douse them.
“It’s so sad to see people burning in front of your eyes. It could be my child, it could be yours,” he said.
SHOCKED TOWN
Mina Gendre was about to close up the shop she works in when she saw the bus, which had stopped unexpectedly across the road, had a fire inside. “It was so shocking,” said Gendre. “I saw someone come running out of the bus on fire.”
Gendre shut the door of the shop to protect it as bystanders helped put out the fire on the person with a jacket, she said.
Vanessa Liuzzi, 37, another local resident who left flowers at the scene, said the story doing the rounds was that someone had set fire to themself.
“I’m shocked, I’m sad, I’m in despair,” she said.
The six fatalities had not been identified and it was unclear if the person suspected of starting the fire was among them.
Nirosan Vickneswaran, 37, was waiting anxiously for news of his cousin who was on the bus.
“We don’t know if he’s injured or worse,” he said. “All we know is that somebody set fire to themself.”
A memorial was being erected in the village square, Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve reported.
The head of the bus company Postauto, Stefan Regli, said it was a terrible tragedy and extended his condolences.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin offered condolences and said the incident was being investigated.
“It shocks and saddens me that once again people have lost their lives in a serious fire in Switzerland,” he said on X.
In January, Switzerland was rocked by a fire in a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana that killed 41 people and injured 115.
“The wounds from Crans-Montana are still fresh, fuelling strong reactions today,” Collaud said.
(Reporting by Dave Graham in Kerzers, Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva; additional reporting by Cecile Mantovani; Editing by Alex Richardson and Andrew Cawthorne)
