Sierre, Switzerland – A tour bus slammed into a tunnel wall in the Swiss Alps in a horrific accident that killed 22 school children and six adults returning to Belgium from a joyous ski vacation.
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The bus carrying 52 people, including students of around age 12 from two different Belgian schools, hit the tunnel wall shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday night on a highway near the southern town of Sierre, Switzerland, in an area of popular ski resorts.
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Oy, nebach. How terrible.
What a tragedy!!! I hope the families find some comfort!!
Nebech, so many innocent children killed.
This is horrible… and what a fatal design flaw in this tunnel, a wall that the bus slammed into right off the tunnel shoulder.
What a terrible design. Similar to overpass walls near exit ramps on many highways, like the Southern State Parkway.
Horrible, horrible accident, which should not have occurred; unfortunately, the modern day motor coach type buses are not built that strongly, as they disintegrate upon impact. Years ago, Greyhound used to have very heavy type vehicles. Today, if one looks at interstate highway buses both here and abroad, they are constructed very lightly to save on fuel. In addition, there are no air bags or seat belts in such vehicles, as there are in private cars. In the USA, the NTSB has recommended mandatory use of seat belts in intercity buses, but the bus industry and its lobbyists has fought against their usage. Getting back to the Europeans, I cannot specifically comment on this accident. However, I distinctly remember being a passenger on a tour bus on the Simplon pass, between Italy and Switzerland. The macho, fool, driver was showing off for the ladies, and steering on a dangerous mountain road, with one or two fingers, while the bus was going downhill!