At least six people have been killed and three others taken to hospital with severe injuries after a bus caught fire in a town west of the Swiss capital, police said.
Police spokesperson Frederic Papaux said an unspecified “voluntary act” could be the cause of the inferno on Tuesday evening in the town of Kerzers, about 25km from Bern, a town in the canton of Fribourg.
“At this stage, we have elements suggesting a deliberate act by a person who was inside the bus,” Papaux said.
The city transport bus is operated by PostBus, which is affiliated with the national postal service.
“After rushing to the scene, rescue teams noted that the vehicle was totally engulfed in flames,” the regional government said in a statement.
Firefighters and police officers install barriers to secure the area where a bus caught fire in Kerzers, Switzerland. Photograph: Laurent Merlet/Keystone via AP
Ambulance and helicopter teams ferried three injured people to hospitals, while two others were treated on site.
Images from the scene on Swiss media showed flames tearing through the bus.
An investigation is under way. – AP/Reuters