A students bus returning from a skiing holiday had collided into a tunnel at high speeds killing 22 children and injuring 24 more. "This is a tragic day for all of Belgium," Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said in a statement.

Pathetic situation in the Swiss as a student’s bus rams into the walls of the tunnel in Sierre in the Swiss canton of Valais on Wednesday. The bus was carrying 52 passengers mostly school students who were on their way back from a skiing holiday at Swiss Alps. The bus moving from Val d'Anniviers towards the Swiss town of Sion on the A9 motorway at top speed rammed into the tunnel walls.

The impact was so heavy that the front of the bus was totally disfigured killing 22 children and leaving 24 more severely injured. Locals reports that the accident occurred at 7.15am local time. In Brussels, the Belgian foreign ministry said most of the children were aged around 12 and the bus was one of three hired by a Christian group. The students came from two different schools.

A police statement said, "The bus hit the barrier stones on the right side of the road. It then hit the tunnel wall front-on in an emergency stop space. Because of the strong impact the bus was badly damaged and several passengers were trapped in the wreckage." Police and fire services turned out in force to seal off the scene of the accident, closing the tunnel at both ends, as eight helicopters and 12 ambulances ferried the injured to four hospitals, police said. (With inputs from internet- AarKay)