The accident, in which 22 children and six teachers were killed, occurred on a quiet road in clear conditions according to investigators. 

Police have ruled out speeding as a possible cause of the accident, and said that the accident had occured despite good weather conditions.

It was confirmed that the two drivers on board the bus were also killed.

The crash occurred when the coach entered the westbound Sierre tunnel on the A9 motorway at roughly 9.15pm on Wednesday.

The bus clipped the kerb in the outside lane and crashed into a concrete wall at the end of the hard shoulder.

A further 28 people were seriously injured in the accident, despite the fact that most people were wearing seatbelts.

Investigators confirmed that the force of the crash was such that all the safety measures on board the new coach did little to prevent the huge loss of life.

The party of 52 schoolchildren and staff from Belgium and Holland had just set off for home after a holiday in Val d’Annivers, an Alpine ski resort where they had enjoyed a nine day holiday.

Less than an hour later two of the three buses carrying the group passed through the Sierre tunnel, when the third crashed.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Claude Peter, head of the Vale d’Anniver rescue service said: “You could not even hear children’s cries. In these situations the children are mute, they are in so much shock, 

“I have a 12 year old son and to see all these injured children of the same age was really shocking,” he added.