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Bus accident in Switzerland: the Belgians honor the 28 victims

 

Belgium, united in sorrow, pays tribute to victims of Friday's bus accident that occurred Tuesday night in Switzerland and will stop at 11:00 precise (10:00 GMT) in memory of 28 people including 22 children who lost their lives in this tragedy.

This national day of mourning-the most since the death of King Baudouin in July 1993 - will be marked by a minute's silence throughout the country, including schools, government and transportation.

All broadcast media, radio and television, will be silent during this moment of reflection shared by all Belgians beyond their political divisions and language. 

The country was literally stunned by the accident of the tunnel of Sierre, near Sion (Switzerland) which claimed the lives of 22 Belgian and Dutch children, aged ; s a dozen years, returning from a stay in snow classes. Everywhere in the kingdom of condolence books were opened and the Belgians flock to sign such records.

Primary schools in Heverlee (center) and Lommel (northeast) where the 46 children were enrolled who were in the bus have become places of pilgrimage. The flowers are piling up along the walls of these two facilities run by the Flemish Catholic teaching. Children's drawings, stuffed animals were hanging on their racks. A rare movement of empathy and solidarity stood in a country that recently described it as irreconcilably divided.

The first children injured in the accident Thursday night quietly returned to Belgium to protect the eyes of the media-and the bodies of 28 deceased persons should ê be repatriated in the day.

"We are living a national tragedy (...) Our grief is immeasurable. Our whole country mourns her children. We invite the public to observe a minute's silence tomorrow at 11:00. All flags are at half of the country. The whole country will pay tribute to these shattered destinies, "said Thursday Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo in a statement before Parliament.

At 11:01, the Catholic Church has decided that all the churches of the country would ring the death knell for a few minutes.

In the Netherlands, the flags will be at half mast on public buildings at the request of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Municipalities and provinces were invited to do the same to honor the six Dutch children killed in the accident.

Based in Brussels, the European Commission must make the same arrangements, a decision "exceptional solidarity with the mourning of the host country," she said.