GENEVA, Switzerland, March 14 (UPI) -- A bus carrying passengers from a skiing trip hit a tunnel wall in Switzerland, killing 28 people, including 22 Belgian children, authorities said.
The disaster occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday near the Swiss town of Sierre close to the border with Italy, The New York Times reported. At least another 24 children were reported injured.
"It is a tragic day for all of Belgium," said Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, who planned to travel to the crash site.
The Times, quoting Belgian and Swiss authorities, reported the bus was carrying 52 passengers, mostly Flanders school children about 12 years old. The town of Sierre is in the Swiss canton of Valais.
CNN, quoting a Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the bus was carrying two drivers, four other adults and 46 children.
The group reportedly was returning to Belgium from Val d'Anniviers.
One driver was among those killed. He had been driving the vehicle -- a modern bus registered in Belgium -- for only about 25 minutes at the start of an overnight trip to Belgium, the Times reported, quoting various local reports.
Police said the bus apparently veered to the right, hit the curb and slammed into the wall of the tunnel. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.
The children were from two towns in Dutch-speaking Flanders. Belgian radio reports said two planes had been arranged to take families to Switzerland Wednesday.
The Times said more than 200 police and rescue personnel were sent to the scene and helicopters were summoned to help evacuate the injured to nearby hospitals.
The BBC reported the bus was one of three used for the trip. The other two reached Belgium safely.
