Swiss police say five died in Dutch coach crash
All the passengers on board were Dutch nationals. (Photo: Handout/Kantonpolizei Graubunden/AFP)
Five people were killed and 40 others injured when a coach carrying Dutch tourists in eastern Switzerland flipped over, police said on Friday.
The accident happened at 4.45pm (1445 GMT) Thursday between the communes of Susch and Zernez in the far-eastern canton of Graubunden, also known as Grisons.
The coach "veered off the road in a construction zone and overturned", Graubunden police said in a statement, adding that "of the 45 adults on board, five died".
Three people had also been seriously hurt, seven had moderately serious injuries and 30 were slightly injured, police said, adding that an investigation had been opened into the circumstances that led to the accident.
Images of the scene published online showed the vehicle lying on its side next to the road, surrounded by police and emergency service personnel.
The Dutch Federation of Travel Agencies (ANVR) said the coach belonged to the tour company OAD, and that all of the passengers were from the Netherlands.
According to the ANVR, the coach left the Netherlands on Monday and was on a day trip to Switzerland from Austria when the crash happened.
OAD said in a statement it was "deeply shocked and devastated by the tragic accident".
A spokeswoman said that the 48 passengers on board were all Dutch nationals. The dead, who were all adults, have yet to be identified.
Zernez is the entry point for visitors to the Swiss National Park, a vast Alpine reserve stretching more than 100 square kilometers across the mountainous Engadine valley.