A police spokesperson at the scene of a coach crash in Switzerland has confirmed that 28 people died in the incident, including 22 children under the age of 12.

Marcus Rieder explained that the accident happened at 9pm local time and altogether there were 52 passengers on the coach.

The vehicle hit a wall in a motorway tunnel near the south-western town of Sierre as the group were returning to Belgium from a skiing holiday.

Mr Rieder told the Today programme's John Humphrys that the investigation had begun but the driver was on the road for only 25 minutes so it is not yet known whether fatigue was a factor.

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