Six Killed in Swiss Bus Fire as Police Point to Deliberate Act by Passenger

A PostBus coach burst into flames on the main street of Kerzers, a small Swiss town 20 kilometres west of Bern, killing six and injuring five.

A criminal investigation is now open, with unconfirmed reports suggesting a passenger may have doused themselves in gasoline before the blaze.

The fire broke out on Tuesday evening in Kerzers, in the canton of Fribourg, western Switzerland. The bus was travelling from Düdingen when the blaze erupted at approximately 6:25 pm local time, just one stop from its final destination.

Videos shared on social media showed flames shooting several metres out of the bus windows and thick black smoke rising above the town.

At least six people were killed and five others injured. Of the injured, three were taken to the hospital with severe injuries, while two were treated at the scene.

Emergency services, including nine ambulances and a helicopter, were deployed, but by the time they arrived, the vehicle had already been completely engulfed in flames.

The bus was operated by PostBus, a transport service affiliated with Switzerland’s national postal service.

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Police point to a deliberate act

Fribourg cantonal police spokesperson Frédéric Papaux said the evidence gathered so far points in one direction. “At this stage, we have elements suggesting a deliberate act by a person who was inside the bus,” he told reporters.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office has formally opened a criminal investigation.

However, police stopped short of naming a motive or classifying the incident as a suicide or terror attack, saying the inquiry is still in its early stages.

Unconfirmed reports suggest a passenger may have poured gasoline on themselves before igniting the blaze. Some accounts indicate another passenger attempted to intervene.

Authorities have neither confirmed nor ruled out these details.

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The second major fire tragedy in Switzerland this year

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said he was shocked and saddened, extending condolences to the families of those killed and expressing support for the injured and emergency responders.

The Kerzers fire comes less than three months after one of Switzerland’s deadliest recent fire disasters.

A blaze at the Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana on New Year’s Eve left 40 people dead and more than 100 injured after sparklers on Champagne bottles reportedly ignited the bar’s ceiling.

Authorities have urged the public to stay away from the Kerzers area as recovery and forensic operations continue.