By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, March 10 (Reuters) - At least six people died in a bus fire on Tuesday in a small town in western Switzerland, prompting the police to launch a criminal investigation.
Six die in Swiss bus blaze after man suspected of setting fire to himself
Details and Aftermath of the Swiss Bus Fire Incident
By Dave Graham and Olivia Le Poidevin
KERZERS, Switzerland, March 11 (Reuters) - Six people died and five were injured in a bus fire in Switzerland that police suspect was caused by a man who set himself ablaze, though there was no indication it was an act of terrorism.
Suspect and Victims Identified
Swiss authorities said on Wednesday the suspected perpetrator, a 65-year-old Swiss man who one official described as "disturbed," was among the dead, and had earlier been reported missing by his family.
The bus was engulfed in flames on Tuesday evening on a road near the centre of Kerzers, a town of about 5,000 inhabitants in the western canton of Fribourg, about 20 km (12 miles) from the Swiss capital Bern, police said.
Investigation and Motive
"As for the motive, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that this could be a terrorist act," Raphael Bourquin, Fribourg's attorney general, told a press conference.
A criminal investigation has been opened into suspected homicide, arson, and endangering the lives of others, Bourquin said.
Victim Details
The six dead were formally identified and except for the 63-year-old bus driver who was Portuguese, all of them were Swiss. They included two women, 25 and 39, and two males aged 16 and 29, police said.
Panic and Escape During the Blaze
PANICKED PASSENGERS SEEN ESCAPING
The suspect is believed to have boarded the bus with bags before dousing himself in flammable material and starting the blaze, officials said.
Investigators were going through CCTV footage as well as social media posts to understand the man's motives, and said further searches and interviews would take place.
Passengers were seen escaping from the burning bus, panicked and injured. Video after the flames were extinguished showed the charred remains of the yellow vehicle.
Eyewitness Accounts
Zeynel Teke, 61, was working at his food stall when flames erupted from the bus and it stopped in front of him.
Two or three people came out of the vehicle, and Teke 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.
Two of the injured people remain in hospital, a 56‑year‑old woman and a 34‑year‑old man, police said.
Community Reaction and Ongoing Investigation
WITNESSES DESCRIBE HORROR
Mina Gendre was about to close up the shop she works in when she saw the bus was ablaze inside. "It was so shocking," said Gendre. "I saw someone come running out of the bus on fire."
One video of the fire circulating among Kerzers' residents showed what appeared to be a body in flames moving on the ground next to the burning bus.
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."
Memorials and Official Response
A memorial was quickly erected next to the site of the blaze.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin offered condolences and said on X: "It shocks and saddens me that once again people have lost their lives in a serious fire in Switzerland."
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.
Parmelin laid flowers in Kerzers with local officials on Wednesday afternoon and paid tribute to rescue workers who battled the blaze.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Dave Graham in Kerzers, Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva; additional reporting by Cecile Mantovani; Editing by Alex Richardson, Andrew Cawthorne and Lincoln Feast.)
