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Three dead in tourist plane crash in Switzerland

A tourist plane crashed in a wooded, mountainous area of western Switzerland on Saturday, killing the three people onboard, police said.

Published: 21 May 2023 16:17 CEST
Three dead in tourist plane crash in Switzerland
Planes at the Dubendorf airport, on January 18, 2023. Photo: SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP.

A tourist plane crashed in a wooded, mountainous area of western Switzerland on Saturday, killing the three people onboard, police said.

The small tourist plane crashed in a steep and forested area near Ponts-De-Martel in the Swiss canton of Neuchatel at around 10:20 am (0820 GMT), regional police said.

“The pilot and the two passengers died on site,” the Neuchatel police said in a statement, without providing further details about the victims.

The plane was registered in Switzerland and had taken off from the nearby Chaux-d-Fonds airport for a sightseeing flight.

A large rescue and recovery operation had been launched, police said, adding though that the crash site in the Neuchatel Mountains was in very steep terrain, complicating the work.

The cause of the crash remains unclear, the statement said, adding that authorities had launched an investigation to determine the circumstances.

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GENEVA

UPDATE: Swiss cantons of Fribourg, Neuchâtel to implement new coronavirus restrictions

Neuchâtel and Fribourg join Geneva and several other cantons in Switzerland in mandating tougher measures to fight the spread of Covid-19.

Published: 3 November 2020 10:39 CET
Updated: 3 November 2020 16:47 CET
UPDATE: Swiss cantons of Fribourg, Neuchâtel to implement new coronavirus restrictions
A sad sight: a number of cantons are shutting down bars and restaurants. Photo by AFP

Fribourg and Neuchâtel have become the latest Swiss cantons implement stricter lockdown measures than those adopted at a federal level. 

Here's what you need to know. 

Fribourg

From 11pm on Wednesday, November 4th, Fribourg will put in place a strict range of new coronavirus measures. 

Bars, restaurants and cafes will be forced to close, as will cinemas, theatres, museums, gyms, fitness centres and swimming pools. 

Cantonal authorities stressed that the measures were necessary to control the pandemic. 

Fribourg has become one of the hardest hit cantons in Switzerland. 

Neuchâtel

Among the new rules will be the closure of all bars and restaurants, along with cinemas, concert halls, theatres, museums, fitness, and wellness centres, erotic salons, swimming pools, bowling alleys and other game rooms. Contact sports are prohibited and non-contact sports activities are limited to five people.

Religious ceremonies are also prohibited, except for funerals.

The measures will go into effect on Wednesday at 11 pm until at least until November 22nd.

“Demonstrations and gatherings, public or private, including within the family circle, both indoors and outdoors, involving more than five people are prohibited. Households with more than five people are not affected by this measure”, the canton said.

Neuchâtel’s measures follow a ‘semi-confinement’ implemented in Geneva on November 2nd, which includes shutting down all bars, restaurants, non-essential shops, as well as leisure establishments like cinemas, museums, libraries and pools.

READ MORE: UPDATE: Geneva and other Swiss cantons introduce tighter coronavirus restrictions 

Similar measures are also in force in Jura, where all bars, restaurants, museums, theatres, cinemas, and libraries in the canton will remain closed until November 15th. 

Other cantons are expected to implement similar measures in the coming days, including Vaud, which will release its list of restrictions on Wednesday.

The measures go beyond those mandated by the Federal Council on October 29th on the national level.

Cantons can’t revoke any of the federal measures but they can add their own, more restrictive ones.
 

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