A tragic accident involving a tour bus in the Swiss Alps Tuesday night left 22 young children dead. Authorities say the bus was transporting 46 Belgian students and 4 adult chaperones back to the Belgian provinces of Brabant, Flanders and Limbourg after a ski trip in Anniviers, Switzerland when the it slammed into the wall of a tunnel in the town of Sierre.
"The bus hit the barrier stones on the right side of the road. It then hit the tunnel wall front-on in an emergency stop space," Valais police said in a statement. "Because of the strong impact the bus was badly damaged and several passengers were trapped in the wreckage."
A total of 28 people died, including 22 students mostly ages 11 and 12, all four adult chaperones and two bus drivers. Police say the remaining 24 students sustained injuries. Many of them were trapped in the wreckage.
Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders called the tragedy “incomprehensible” and said authorities are still in the process of identifying bodies. The government plans to take the parents of victims to Switzerland in military planes. Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo also planned to visit the site on Wednesday.
The cause of the crash is unclear and is under investigation.
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