The passengers, four teachers and 46 pupils from Saint-Lambertus school in Heverlee, Flemish Brabant, and ‘t Stekske primary school in Lommel, Limburg, were returning home with two other schools originating from Beersel and Haasrode, Flemish Brabant, having spent the previous few days at a skiing resort in Val d'Anniviers in the Swiss Alps.
 
The crash occurred shortly after 9 pm local time (CET) on 13 March 2012, when the coach, while in the Sierre Tunnel, veered and hit a curb, then collided with a concrete wall head-on, at the end of an emergency turnout area.
The front portion of the vehicle was severely damaged, initially preventing some survivors from escaping; the side and rear windows of the coach had to be smashed by emergency workers in order to gain access to the trapped passengers.

Police said that because of the strong impact the coach was badly damaged and many of the passengers were trapped in the wreckage, meaning they had to be freed by the dozens of rescuers mobilised to the scene.
The road was closed in both directions to facilitate the rescue which took several hours and involved firefighters, police, doctors and three psychologists.
Rescuers described the scene as "apocalyptic" and some became distressed as they fought to remove dead and injured children from the wreckage.
Eight air ambulances and a dozen road ambulances were used to transport victims to several hospitals.
The most seriously injured children were flown to hospitals in Bern and Lausanne.

The coach was one of three hired by the group; the other two reached Belgium safely.
Among the passengers aboard the crashed bus were 39 Belgians, ten Dutch children, one German child, one British child, and one Polish child.
The passengers, four teachers and 46 pupils from Saint-Lambertus school in Heverlee, Flemish Brabant, and ‘t Stekske primary school in Lommel, Limburg, were returning home with two other schools originating from Beersel and Haasrode, Flemish Brabant, having spent the previous few days at a skiing resort in Val d'Anniviers in the Swiss Alps.  
The crash occurred shortly after 9 pm local time (CET) on 13 March 2012, when the coach, while in the Sierre Tunnel, veered and hit a curb, then collided with a concrete wall head-on, at the end of an emergency turnout area. The front portion of the vehicle was severely damaged, initially preventing some survivors from escaping; the side and rear windows of the coach had to be smashed by emergency workers in order to gain access to the trapped passengers.
Police said that because of the strong impact the coach was badly damaged and many of the passengers were trapped in the wreckage, meaning they had to be freed by the dozens of rescuers mobilised to the scene. The road was closed in both directions to facilitate the rescue which took several hours and involved firefighters, police, doctors and three psychologists. Rescuers described the scene as "apocalyptic" and some became distressed as they fought to remove dead and injured children from the wreckage. Eight air ambulances and a dozen road ambulances were used to transport victims to several hospitals. The most seriously injured children were flown to hospitals in Bern and Lausanne.
The coach was one of three hired by the group; the other two reached Belgium safely. Among the passengers aboard the crashed bus were 39 Belgians, ten Dutch children, one German child, one British child, and one Polish child.
Sierre coach crash