Posted on 03/14/2012 3:25:08 AM PDT by rawhide
GENEVA — A bus smashed into a tunnel wall in the Swiss Alps, killing 22 Belgian 12-year-olds returning from a ski vacation and the six adults who were accompanying them, police said Wednesday.
Another 24 students were hospitalized with injuries, Valais cantonal (state) police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet told The Associated Press.
The bus carrying 52 people, including young students from two different Belgian schools, hit the tunnel wall shortly after 9 p.m. local time Tuesday on the A9 highway near Sierre, Switzerland, in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, an area of popular ski resorts.
Authorities were still identifying all the victims, said Didier Reynders, the Belgian foreign minister. It was unclear exactly how the accident happened, he said.
“It is incomprehensible,” Reynders said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Not if the driver fell asleep.
Six adult chaperones and one bus driver. Maybe they should have had five adult chaperones and two bus drivers, with the drivers taking turns.
The video posted above indicates both drivers were killed.
I didn’t watch the video. There were 2 drivers? Then this really doesn’t make any sense.
anyone know the whereabouts of Alan Grayson at the time?
One bus and two drivers? I don’t ride buses so maybe it is common to have two drivers?
And a tunnel should not have any “walls” that can be struck at a 90 degree angle. Perhaps it was a column wall between lanes with no guiding/guard rail to prevent a head on attack?
Prayers for all the families.
It doesn’t matter how many drivers there were available only one was behind the wheel at the time of the accident.
A tragic accident.
Who knows: The driver could have had a heart attack.
In Europe they normally have two drivers on tour groups. There are strict “driver” laws.
From the video and pictures the tunnel appears to have some curves that would allow for a fairly headon crash into a wall.
The bus must have been going awfully fast. Busses are safe largely because of their mass, which means they win most vehicular collisions, and size, which gives them a big crumple zone. The kids here must have really been tossed around.
Alternatively, there could have been fire and toxic fumes in an enclosed area, but I don’t think fire is allowed in the EU.
Updated story with many more pictures here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2114749/Switzerland-coach-crash-22-Belgian-children-killed-dozens-hurt.html
The front right side of bus hit a wall head-on. See the link at post #14 for pictures showing this.
The bus was reported to have been traveling ‘considerably faster’ in excess of the posted speed limit, when one of its tire hit the outside curb, causing the driver to lose control of the bus. The bus then rammed head-on into the wall.
Bus and truck drivers have (or did have) paper discs that they slide in behind the speedometer. The discs are transcribed with time and speed.
I think 8 hours is the max.
When I worked as a tour guide I would stay up and keep a conversation going with the driver on overnight bus trips.
France, for example, is a very monotonous drive a night.
This accident in Switzerland is more likely driver error than falling asleep, given the location and time of day.
The link didn’t work . . .here:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/03/14/article-2114749-1228B603000005DC-629_964x560.jpg
That had to a horrific crash, as reports are the driver was considerably above the speed limit of 63 mph when he that concrete barrier.
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