Swiss bus fire likely deliberate but terrorism ruled out for now: police

Geneva: A bus fire that killed at least six people in western Switzerland was likely ignited deliberately but probably not as an act of terror, police...

Geneva: A bus fire that killed at least six people in western Switzerland was likely ignited deliberately but probably not as an act of terror, police said on Wednesday.

The fire broke out on the bus in the main street of the small town of Kerzers, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of the Alpine nation's capital Bern, at about 6:25 pm (1725 GMT) Tuesday.

Videos shared on social media showed flames several metres high bursting out from the windows, and black smoke rising into the sky.

In an interview on Wednesday with Swiss national broadcaster RTS, Fribourg Canton police communications chief Martial Pugin confirmed that while "an intentional act is the most likely scenario", "at present there is no evidence" it was a terror attack.

Fribourg cantonal police spokesman Frederic Papaux had told AFP on Tuesday evening that the fire "left at least six dead and five injured, three of them seriously".