At least six people have died in a bus fire in Switzerland, according to police and local media reports.
Police said the fire broke out at Kerzers in the canton of Friborg around 6.25pm on Tuesday. The victims have not yet been identified.
Five people, including emergency responders, were injured and three of them were taken to hospital in a critical condition, Friborg police said in a statement.
It was unclear if anyone else was injured in the fire, as officials said they did not know how many people were inside the bus when it caught fire.
A man inside the bus “poured petrol on it and set it on fire,” a witness claimed in a video shared with a Swiss newspaper. Blick. This account was reportedly corroborated by other witnesses.
Firefighters and police officers set up barricades to protect the area where a postal bus caught fire in Kergers. Image: AP
The fire may have been an “act of arson”, a police spokesman in Friborg told a news conference, adding that the force had “information that a person caused the fire”.
He said that the police had received information that someone had poured petrol on them, but this could not be confirmed.
Another spokesman said the fire may have been started “deliberately” and said police would not reveal whether the alleged perpetrator was among the injured or dead.
Barricades surround the charred remains of a deadly bus fire in Kerzers, Switzerland. Image: AP
Police have not ruled out an act of terrorism and said investigations are ongoing.
Officers are set to remain at the scene and the burnt bus is shielded from view by barriers. Residents are requested to avoid the area.
Schweizerische Post, the company that operates the bus, said in a statement to the Swiss paper Der Bund: “Our thoughts are with the families of the injured and the deceased.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be announced soon.
Please refresh the page for the full version.
Through this you can get breaking news alerts on smartphone or tablet The Sky News app. You can too Follow us on WhatsApp And subscribe to us YouTube channel To keep up with the latest news.
