Swiss bus crash: Tribute to 15 killed in mountain tunnel tragedy

Members of the Belgian and Dutch royal families were among those who gathered outside a community centre in Lommel – home to 17 of the victims – for the funeral service.

In all, 28 people were killed in the crash, one of the worst road accidents in Swiss history.

Two large screens were erected outside the centre for crowds outsid to watch the ceremony.

The service commemorated 14 students and a teacher from Lommel who were killed as their bus returned from a traditional “snow class” vacation in Switzerland involving two schools in northern Belgium. Soldiers took part in a solemn procession that carried the 15 coffins into a packed hall built to seat 5,000 people. Photographs of the other two victims from Lommel were also carried into the hall for the ceremony. One, an administrative assistant for the school, has already been buried in a separate ceremony. Another child victim is also to be buried in private.

The children and their teachers were returning from the holiday on 13 March when their bus, carrying 52 people, slammed into a tunnel wall. In addition to the dead, 24 children were injured. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Belgian police estimated that an additional 10,000 people gathered to watch the service on the screens outside the centre.

Among those who paid tribute to the dead was Lommel mayor Peter Vanvelthoven. “Is there anything worse for parents than to lose what they love most?” he asked.

The mother of one young victim said she “loved going to school” and “adored all the teachers”.

Ski monitor supervisor Marina Claes spoke about the days leading up to the crash. She said: “The snow classes were a true feast. Happy, smiling kids. Excellent weather, great snow.”

She spoke of snow barbecues, surprise parties, and how on the last day “everyone got their much-sought after ski diploma”.

Six of the victims were Dutch nationals, and Belgium’s King Albert II was joined at the service by Dutch Crown Prince Willem Alexander, Belgian prime minister Elio Di Rupo and his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte.

Swiss president Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and Swiss emergency services who were at he crash scene also attended.

At the service, families pinned red roses to a giant heart of yellow roses as the Scala choir sang.

The coffins were carried out of the centre and handed back to the families for private burial. As they left the church, the choir sang U2’s With Or Without You.

Three Belgian girls on the trip remain in Switzerland. They were badly injured, but have regained consciousness and are out of immediate danger.

A separate service will be held today for the victims from the other school, in the Belgian town of Heverlee.