Several people have died and more injured after a passenger bus caught fire in Switzerland.
The blaze broke out at around 6.25pm local time in Kerzers, in Switzerland’s Fribourg canton, police confirmed.
"Several people were injured and several people died," the force said.
"Emergency services are currently responding. The causes are not yet known."
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The BBC report that at least six people have died in the blaze, while five have been left injured.
Of the five injured, three were taken to hospital, while the other two were treated at the scene. One injured allegedly attempted to intervene.
Despite fire engines, police and nine ambulances rushing to the scene, the bus had been engulfed by the flame for many minutes and had already been reduced to merely a shell by the time they arrived.
While the cause of the fire remains unknown, police said they are investigating whether it was started deliberately.
Several people have died and more injured after a passenger bus caught fire prompting a rapid emergency response
|GETTY
Reports online speculate a man doused himself in petrol and set himself ablaze while onboard the bus.
"We have information that a person was responsible for the fire," police said.
Despite this, the force refused to confirm whether a suspected perpetrator was among the injured or dead.
A press conference has been scheduled for late Tuesday evening. "The intervention will certainly continue throughout the night," a spokeswoman for Freiburg police confirmed.
A major rescue operation continues to be under way, and local media report a helicopter had been deployed
|GETTY
Emergency services remain at the scene, which is situated around 12 miles west of the capital, Berne, treating victims.
A major rescue operation continues to be under way, and local media report a helicopter had been deployed.
Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA report that one person has been airlifted to hospital via the helicopter.
Harrowing footage online shows the bus ablaze, with emergency fire services desperately attempting to contain the fire.
Swiss president Guy Parmelin issued a statement on social media, reading: "It distresses and saddens me that once again people in Switzerland have lost their lives in a severe fire.
"The circumstances are being investigated. To the relatives of the deceased from Kerzers, I extend my condolences. And I think of the injured and the rescue workers."
The bus had been travelling from Dudingen to Kerzers, and was just one stop from its destination before the fire erupted.
Tuesday evening's blaze comes just weeks after Switzerland experienced another tragedy, when a fire in Le Constellation bar in the ski-resort town of Crans-Montana broke out on New Year's Eve.
The inferno left 41 dead, mostly teenagers, along with 116 injured, 83 of those being treated for severe burns.
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