Five killed as Dutch tour bus crashes in Swiss Alps

Five people were killed and 40 others injured when a Dutch tourist coach overturned in a roadworks area in the Swiss Alps, police said Friday, prompting a large rescue operation involving helicopters and ambulances from Switzerland and Austria.

The bus, carrying 45 Dutch tourists, crashed late Thursday afternoon between Susch and Zernez in the south-eastern canton of Graubünden, also known as Grisons. Police said the coach hit a safety barrier, left the road and overturned, landing in a construction zone near the village of Susch.

The dead had not yet been identified, Swiss police said. Among the injured, three people were in serious condition, seven were moderately hurt and 30 had minor injuries, according to police in the canton. All 40 surviving passengers were taken to hospitals by rescue helicopters and ambulance crews.

Seven helicopters from Switzerland and Austria were deployed, along with 13 ambulance crews, fire departments and the Plaiv road rescue service. The scale of the response reflected the remote Alpine location of the crash site, where rescuers worked to evacuate the wounded from the overturned coach.

Graubünden’s public prosecutor’s office and police are investigating the circumstances that led to the crash. Authorities have not announced a cause.

The coach had reportedly left the Netherlands on Monday and was on a day trip to Switzerland from Austria when it crashed, the BBC reported.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said on X that he was “deeply shocked” by the incident and offered his “sincere condolences” to the families of the victims. Al Jazeera reported that Parmelin also said he was “deeply shocked and dismayed.”

Dutch leaders also expressed sympathy. Prime Minister Rob Jetten said his thoughts were with everyone involved. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands wrote on social media: “Our hearts go out to the bereaved, to everyone currently fearing for the fate of their loved ones and to the injured. We stand with you in this great tragedy.”

The crash occurred in the Engadine valley near Zernez, the entry point for visitors to the Swiss National Park, a vast Alpine reserve stretching more than 100 sq km, or 40 sq miles, across the mountainous region.