Swiss authorities said the fire was caused by a “marginal and disturbed” man who self-immolated, ruling out terrorist motives.
A Portuguese citizen is among the victims of a bus fire that killed six people and injured five on Tuesday near Freiburg, Switzerland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) said in a note of condolences this Wednesday.
“The MNE deeply regrets the death of a Portuguese citizen in the tragic fire in Kerzers, Switzerland. We convey our heartfelt condolences to the family and express solidarity with the authorities and victims”, can be read in the post published on Facebook.
Swiss authorities said the fire was caused by a “marginal and disturbed” man who self-immolated, ruling out terrorist motives.
“A witness reported that a man, whom investigation showed to be of Swiss origin (…) entered this bus with bags in his hands. At one point, he sprayed himself with a flammable product and set it on fire,” said the canton’s prosecutor, Raphael Bourquin, at a press conference in Granges-Paccot, near Fribourg.
The fire, which broke out late Tuesday afternoon in a regional transport bus in Kerzers, caused at least six deaths and five injuries, two of them seriously, cantonal police said.
“As far as the motives are concerned, there is absolutely no element to suggest that it could be a terrorist act,” said Bourquin.
The family of the alleged perpetrator, a 60-year-old man residing in Bern, had “announced his disappearance” and “current elements of the investigation describe him as a marginal and disturbed person,” the prosecutor added, noting that “it appears that this person would be among the deceased.”
Itamaraty had already expressed on social media its “deep regret for the tragic bus accident” in Kerzers (Chiètres), Switzerland.
The accident occurred on a “postal bus”, an iconic public transport service in the country, which connects rural and mountainous locations, so called because it was created to distribute mail.
Swiss “postal buses” are traditional in the country, recognized by their yellow color, punctuality and three-tone horn (used to warn on tight curves).
