Numerous Dead, Injured As Dutch Tourist Coach Crashes In Swiss Alps

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BERN, SWITZERLAND (Worthy News) – Five people have been killed and 40 injured after a coach carrying mainly elderly Dutch tourists crashed in the Swiss Alps, authorities said, prompting expressions of grief from Dutch and Swiss leaders.

The coach, with 44 passengers and a driver aboard, struck a barrier Thursday before leaving the road and overturning between Susch and Zernez in Switzerland’s eastern canton of Graubünden, according to investigators.

Three people were seriously injured, seven suffered moderate injuries and 30 sustained minor injuries, Swiss authorities said. Ten remained hospitalized Friday with moderate to serious injuries.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten called it “a terrible accident in Switzerland,” while King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima said their hearts went out to the bereaved and injured. “We feel connected with you in this great tragedy,” the royal couple stressed.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said he was “deeply shocked” and expressed condolences to the victims’ families while thanking emergency workers.

AMBASSADOR RECALLS MH17

Dutch Ambassador to Switzerland Karin Mössenlechner traveled to the scene and met survivors, whom she described as being in shock.

“I spoke to several people and visited the site of the accident. That was very intense,” Mössenlechner told reporters. “I was once part of the MH17 team; this gave me the same feeling.”

Mössenlechner previously served with the Dutch Foreign Ministry team dealing with the aftermath of the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, which killed all 298 people aboard, including 196 Dutch citizens.

While there were far fewer casualties in the Swiss crash, Mössenlechner suggested that the emotional impact of the two disasters was comparable.

Thursday’s crash reportedly happened at about 4:45 p.m. local time while the group was making a day excursion into Switzerland from neighboring Austria.

ELDERLY TOUR GROUP

The Oad-organized holiday had begun Monday with 48 tourists, all reportedly over 60. Four did not join Thursday’s excursion, leaving 44 passengers aboard the coach. The vehicle belonged to Hartemink Touringcars of Eibergen in the eastern Netherlands.

Swiss police confirmed that no other vehicle was involved. The coach apparently struck a barrier on the left side of a narrowed section of road before veering right and overturning just below the roadway.

Roadworks were underway at the site, but authorities have not established whether they contributed to the crash. Earlier suggestions that the driver swerved to avoid a rock have not been confirmed.

Seven helicopters from Switzerland and Austria and 13 ambulance crews were deployed to transport victims to hospitals across the region, according to officials.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry sent additional consular personnel to Switzerland, while emergency assistance organization Eurocross helped coordinate support and the return of survivors to the Netherlands.

DRIVER KNEW ROUTE

Oad director Arjan Koster, who traveled to Switzerland, said the driver escaped serious physical injury but was deeply affected by the tragedy.

Koster noted that the driver knew the Alpine route well and traveled it several times a year. Graubünden cantonal police and prosecutors were investigating the cause.

Fatal coach accidents of this magnitude have become less frequent in Switzerland, where the public transport system has maintained a high safety level in recent years following several major disasters.

However, in March 2012, 28 people were killed when a Belgian coach carrying children returning from a ski holiday crashed into a tunnel wall near Sierre, also known as Siders, in the canton of Valais.

Among the dead were 22 Belgian and Dutch children, their teachers and two drivers. Another 24 people were injured in one of Switzerland’s worst coach disasters in decades.

SWISS COACH SAFETY

Nine people were also killed in September 2006 when a coach and two cars were involved in a collision and fire in the Viamala Tunnel in Graubünden.

Swiss federal statistics show that passenger deaths in bus accidents have generally remained at very low levels in recent years.

Yet the relative rarity of such fatalities contrasted with Thursday’s accident, in which everyone aboard the coach was either killed or injured.

The wrecked coach was recovered Friday as investigations continued.

Zernez, near the site of Thursday’s crash, is an important gateway to the Swiss National Park in the Engadine valley, an Alpine region near Switzerland’s borders with Austria and Italy.