Several people have died and others were injured after a tourist coach carrying 48 Dutch passengers overturned in the south-eastern Swiss Alps late on Thursday afternoon. The vehicle came off the road and lay on its side between Susch and Zernez in the canton of Graubünden, emergency services said.
Swiss rescuers deployed a large team to the scene, including several helicopters and numerous ambulances, and worked to assist passengers and evacuate the injured. Photographs published by Swiss outlets show the coach beside a narrow country road with groups of medics and emergency crews operating around it.
A spokeswoman for the General Dutch Association of Travel Companies, speaking on behalf of tour operator OAD, said some 48 Dutch nationals were on board. She told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf the organisation could not yet provide a definitive count of those killed or hurt.
The coach began its journey in the Netherlands on Monday and was on a day trip to Switzerland from Austria when the crash occurred. Zernez sits at the gateway to the Swiss National Park, a protected Alpine area that covers more than 100 square kilometres of the Engadine valley.
Local authorities have not released a full casualty list and details of the circumstances that led to the overturning remain limited. Rescue operations at the site continued into the evening as officials worked to secure the scene and attend to survivors.
Families and the travel operator are expected to receive further information as authorities complete their on-site work and compile an official account of injuries and fatalities. For now, Swiss emergency services and Dutch travel representatives are focused on casualty care and informing relatives of those involved.
