Swiss Crash Victims Mourned, Pope’s Condolences

(March 15, 2012) The mothers and fathers who flew to Switzerland on Wednesday faced every parent’s worst nightmare, the loss of a child. They went to the scene of the horrific bus crash that had killed 22 children and six others who had been on a ski trip. Belgium Prime Minister Elio di Rupo said theirs was a deep rooted sense of loss. "We know that this deep pain is rooted inside every parent, every family." As the Beligian authorities prepared to fly the bodies of the children home, attention was being turned to how the crash could have happened. Police said the bus was not speeding and everyone aboard had been wearing seat belts when it crashed late Tuesday inside a Tunnel the southern town of Sierre. In Belgium, the Bishop of Hasselt, Patrick Hoogmartens, said he had tried to offer what comfort he could to the grief stricken families. “There was one mother who said to me, ‘the only thing we can do is hope and pray’. I think it’s so, and it is also my attitude.” “I tried to help them to be faithful and hopeful, but the situation is very difficult for us and for them. On Wednesday evening a prayer vigil was held in Leuven cathedral in Belgium for the victims of the crash. Pope Benedict XVI sent his condolences to the families of the victims and all those involved in the tragedy and said he was praying for them. On Wednesday, Belgium held a day of national mourning, while the Swiss and the European parliaments observed a minute's silence for the victims.