Swiss President Guy Parmelin noted how the blaze had come just months after his country began the year with the devastating fire at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, where more than 40 people were killed.

Image:Firefighters approach the bus. Pic: Wir Freiburg

At least six people have died in a bus blaze in Switzerland, which was allegedly started by a man inside the vehicle, according to police and local media reports.

Police said the blaze took place in Kerzers, a town in the western canton of Fribourg, at around 6.25pm on Tuesday. The victims have not yet been identified.

Five people have been injured, including an emergency responder, and three of them have been taken to hospital in critical condition, Fribourg police said in a statement.

Image:Investigators examine the charred shell of the bus. Pic: AP

Man ‘set himself alight’ in possible ‘wilful act’

It is unclear whether any other people have been hurt in the blaze, as officials said it is not known how many people were inside the bus when the fire, which “totally engulfed” the vehicle, started.

A man inside the bus “poured out petrol and set himself alight”, a witness claims in a video shared with Swiss newspaper Blick. This account was corroborated by other witnesses, according to the report.

The fire could have been a “wilful act”, the spokeswoman of Fribourg’s police said at a news conference, adding the force had “information that a person is the cause of the fire”.

She said that while police have received information that someone had poured petrol over themselves, she could not confirm this.

Another spokesperson said the fire could have been “deliberately” started, and added police would not reveal whether the alleged perpetrator is among the injured or dead.

Image:Firefighters and police officers install barriers to secure the area. Pic: AP

Police have not ruled out a terror act and said an investigation is under way.

Officers are set to remain at the scene, where the burnt-out bus is shielded from view by barriers. Residents have been asked to avoid the area.

President ‘saddened’ by another deadly blaze

Schweizerische Post, the company operating the bus, said in a statement to Swiss paper Der Bund: “Our thoughts are with the injured and the families of the deceased.”

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a post on X: “It distresses and saddens me that yet more people in Switzerland have lost their lives in a serious fire.

“The background is being clarified. To the relatives of the deceased from Kerzers, I extend my condolences. And I think of the injured & the emergency services.”

Image:Barriers surrounding the charred remains of the vehicle. Pic: AP

The bus fire comes just months after a bar blaze in the Swiss mountain resort of Crans-Montana killed 41 people and injured 115 more in the early hours of 1 January.

Most of those who died were teenagers, and many were foreigners, including several from France and Italy.