Several dead after tourist coach carrying 48 passengers flips over mountain road in Swiss Alps
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Several people have died and others injured after a coach carrying tourists crashed and flipped over on a mountain road in Switzerland.
The tour coach carrying 48 people overturned in the eastern Swiss canton of Graubunden, the largest holiday region in Switzerland, at 8pm on Thursday.
The vehicle hit a safety barrier before flipping over and plunging down the embankment, a local police spokesperson told Swiss media.
Emergency services swarmed the scene, working around the coach as it lay on its side on an embankment next to the carriageway. Helicopters were seen landing near the incident.
The Dutch Federation of Travel Agencies (ANVR) identified the coach as belonging to Oad, a Dutch tour company that runs holiday trips across Europe. It added all 48 passengers were from the Netherlands.
Local authorities confirmed the fatalities, though they have not released the number of victims nor nationalities.
'Several people died in the coach crash in Susch. Several others were also injured,' the cantonal police said on X, without giving details on the circumstances of the accident or the victims' identities.
A police spokesman said that the force did not wish to provide a more detailed toll until the victims' families had been informed.
Several people have died and others injured after a coach carrying tourists crashed and flipped over on a mountain road in Switzerland
Emergency services swarmed the scene, working around the coach as it lay on its side on an embankment next to the carriageway
According to the ANVR, the coach left the Netherlands on Monday and was on a day trip to Switzerland from Austria when the crash happened.
The incident occurred after the coach is believed to have barreled off the road, which connects the villages of Susch and Zernez, before overturning.
Oad said in a statement it was 'deeply shocked and devastated by the tragic accident'.
'Our thoughts are with everyone involved and their loved ones. Local authorities are currently fully engaged in relief efforts and in determining the situation and the number of casualties,' it added.
'We are doing everything in our power to obtain clarity quickly and to support those involved and their families wherever possible.'
Swiss President Guy Parmelin offered his condolences to the families of the victims, calling the crash a 'tragic accident'.
Zernez is the entry point for visitors to the Swiss national park, a vast Alpine reserve stretching more than 100 square kilometres (40 square miles) across the mountainous Engadine valley.
Police said an investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched and remains ongoing.
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