Bus crash carnage in tunnel ‘like a war zone’

In all, 28 people were killed on Tuesday night when the tour bus smashed into the side of an Alpine tunnel; another 24 pupils were taken to hospital, having been cut free from the mangled wreckage.

The bus was carrying 52 people, including pupils aged around 12 from two different Belgian schools. Ten of the children were Dutch.

Local police chief Christian Varone said rescuers arriving at the crash site near the southern Swiss town of Sierre were greeted by what he called “a scene like a war”.

“We have had a number of serious accidents in Valais but nothing like this, with so many young victims,” he said.

Police will study footage of the crash captured by surveillance cameras in the tunnel as part of the investigation into what had caused the accident.

“The bus hit the barrier stones on the right side of the road. It then hit the tunnel wall head on in an emergency stop space,” a police spokesman said.

“Because of the strong impact the bus was badly damaged and several passengers were trapped in the wreckage.”

Police said the pupils had spent the last few days at a ski camp and were on their way back to the Belgian provinces of Brabant, Flanders and Limbourg.

While they were there, students at one school kept a blog that brimmed with enthusiasm.

“Today was totally the best,” one girl wrote. “The adventurous walk was tiring but mega-cool. We won first prize for cleanest room. Tomorrow it’s going to be colder. Byyyeeee!”

On the fifth day of the holiday, a teacher posted a note meant to reassure parents at home. “For now we do not see much homesickness,” the teacher wrote. “But from the reactions of the children we gather that they miss you a little bit.”

Toward the week’s end, the postings revealed early signs of homesickness.

“Dear mama and papa. I like it here a lot, but I miss you. Love you. Kisses.” And: “Hey, mama, papa ... It is super here and the sun shines the whole day. But I do miss you! XXX.”

The posts came with scores of photos posted by the youngsters from Belgium’s St Lambertus school who were staying in a hotel in Saint-Luc, high in the Swiss Alps.

The dead included teacher Frank Van Kerckhove, who set up the blog with the idea of keeping parents and children who stayed home informed about all the fun.

Outside St Lambertus school in the town of Heverlee yesterday parents spoke highly of Mr Van Kerckhove. Teary-eyed, some recalled his last post, dated March 11 – the eve of the return trip.

“Tomorrow will be a busy day and I do not know if I can write a blog posting,” he wrote. “But on Wednesday we’ll be back, all of us.”

The Top Tours company, based in Aarschot, about 25 miles from Brussels, was in charge of the bus that crashed. Belgian Transport Minister Melchior Wathelet said it had a good safety record.

“The company has an excellent reputation. The drivers had arrived (in Switzerland) the night before and rested on the day before the departure. It seems that the rules regarding driving and rest time were respected,” said Mr Wathelet. He added the bus that crashed was relatively new.

One of Europe’s most tragic tunnel accidents happened in March 1999, when 39 people were killed after a lorry caught fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy.