A tourist coach carrying dozens of tourists flipped over and crashed in the Swiss alps on Thursday, leaving five passengers dead and 40 injured.
The crashed vehicle was reportedly operated by Dutch tourist company Oad. Roman Ruegg, spokesperson of the Graubünden Cantonal Police, detailed on Wednesday night that most, if not all of its passengers were Dutch nationals.
Per the BBC, the tourist vehicle departed from the Netherlands on Monday and was on its way to Austria when the accident occurred.
Switzerland, Susch: Emergency responders are working at the scene of an accident involving a Dutch tour bus in the canton of Graubünden. (Jason Tschepljakow/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The Swiss Cantonal police released a statement on Friday morning explaining that the tourist coach was traveling from the town of Zernez towards Susch during the afternoon hours of Thursday. The vehicle veered off the road in a construction zone and overturned — resulting in the deaths of five of its 45 adult passengers. The identities of the five deceased persons have not been confirmed by authorities at press time.
Out of the 40 total injured, the police detailed, three present serious injuries, seven were left moderately injured, and the remaining 30 sustained minor injures. Seven rescue helicopters and 13 ambulance teams from Swiss air rescue company Rega, Alpine Air Ambulance, and Heli Austria transported the survivors to various hospitals.
SRF reports that the bus was lifted from the accident site on early Friday morning after numerous emergency services were deployed to the location. Swiss President Guy Parmelin expressed his condolences to the victims in a social media message.
“I am deeply shocked and dismayed by today’s tragic accident involving a Dutch coach in Graubünden. At this painful time, my thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. I offer my sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,” President Parmelin wrote. “I am very grateful for the efforts of the first responders.”
“The relevant Swiss authorities will ensure that a comprehensive and thorough investigation is carried out to establish all the circumstances surrounding this accident,” he concluded.
Per SRF, Dutch tourist company Oad expressed its dismay at the bus accident and stated, “Our thought are with all those affected and their families.