At least 6 killed, 5 injured in Switzerland bus fire

SCMP | March 10, 2026, 7:37 p.m. | Original

Fire investigators examine the charred shell of a bus after it caught fire in Kerzers, Switzerland, on Tuesday. Photo: Kontonspolizei Freiburg via EPA

A bus caught fire in western Switzerland on Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring five others in what police said may have been a deliberate act.

The fire broke out on the bus in the main street of the small town of Kerzers, around 20km (12 miles) west of the Swiss capital Bern, at about 6.25pm.

Videos circulating on social media showed flames several metres high bursting out from the windows and black smoke rising into the sky.

The fire “left at least six dead and five injured, three of them seriously”, Fribourg cantonal police sergeant Frederic Papaux said.

“The police are currently treating the fire as a man-made incident, and even a deliberate act,” he said, without providing further details.

Firefighters close off the area in front of a bus after it caught fire in Kerzers, Switzerland, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
Firefighters close off the area in front of a bus after it caught fire in Kerzers, Switzerland, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

At a press conference, police would not be drawn on potential hypotheses including suicide or an act of terror.

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