BELGIUM: Minute silence is held to mourn victims of the Swiss bus crash that killed twenty eight
Record ID:
382835
BELGIUM: Minute silence is held to mourn victims of the Swiss bus crash that killed twenty eight
- Title: BELGIUM: Minute silence is held to mourn victims of the Swiss bus crash that killed twenty eight
- Date: 17th March 2012
- Summary: HEVERLEE, BELGIUM (MARCH 16, 2012) (REUTERS) SCHOOL GATE OPENING WITH PUPILS STANDING IN SCHOOL YARD TO OBSERVE MINUTE OF SILENCE FLOWERS LAYING ON PAVEMENT GROUP OF CHILDREN OBSERVING MINUTE OF SILENCE TEACHERS HOLDING HANDS STANDING OPPOSITE OF CHILDREN VARIOUS OF PUPILS AND TEACHERS HOLDING HANDS PEOPLE LOOKING AT CEREMONY AT SCHOOL, ONE WOMAN CRYING TWO TEACHERS KISSING EACH OTHER, OTHERS HOLDING WHITE BALLOONS PUPILS HOLDING WHITE BALLOONS WITH MESSAGE OR DRAWING ATTACHED PUPILS AND TEACHERS COUNTING AND RELEASING BALLOONS
- Embargoed: 1st April 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Belgium, Belgium
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA7FT7GHNT631I8AONP3NYZMOTJ
- Story Text: A minute of silence was held across Belgium on Friday (March 16) to mourn the victims of a Swiss bus crash that killed 28 people.
Public transport came to a halt at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) whilst churches and cathedrals rang bells for several minutes after the silence. Radio stations changed their playlists to reflect the sombre mood.
Belgium is holding a day of mourning to remember the victims, most of them 12 years old, who were returning from a ski trip to the Belgian towns of Heverlee and Lommel when their bus crashed into the wall of a tunnel in the Valais region of Switzerland.
Flags were flown at half-mast on public buildings across Belgium, the Netherlands and the Swiss canton of Valais where the accident happened.
Six Dutch children were killed in the crash and a further four were injured. Official British sources said one of the dead was an 11-year-old with joint Belgian-British nationality.
Swiss authorities were carrying out an autopsy on the bus drivers' bodies to see if they might yield clues to the cause of the accident.
Six children who survived with minor injuries returned home on Thursday, Belgian authorities said. A Swiss hospital spokeswoman said a further two were also on their way, leaving 16 still in hospital, including three in critical condition.
Earlier on Friday, Belgian military aircraft flew home the bodies of 22 children and six adults killed to Melsbroek military airport.
Friday's national day of mourning is Belgium's first since 2004, called to remember 24 people killed in a gas explosion near the town of Ghislenghien. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.